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A review by eyreibreathe
The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani
4.0
After the heartache of enduring three miscarriages and the impending break-up of her marriage, New York journalist Jaya is desperate to alleviate her grief. When her mother gets a letter saying her estranged father is dying, Jaya decides to venture to India for a change of scenery and with the hope of unearthing the mysteries of her family's past. There she meets Ravi, her grandmother's former servant, who tells of her grandmother's strength, forbidden love, and sacrifices. Through these stories, Jaya comes to understand her own mother and finds a strength she never knew she had.
The Storyteller's Secret is a book that has long been in my TBR stacks, and the timing finally felt perfect for reading it. To be honest, I'm struggling to figure out exactly how I feel about this one. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. For a good long while, I was coasting along, immersed in the story and the setting. My senses were alive as I tasted the culinary wonders of India, greeted my fellow women in their richly-colored saris, felt the sun baring down on me. I ached right along with Jaya as she mourned her three miscarriages. And I was loving the back and forth shifts in both time and perspective. Then, somewhere nearing the end of the book, the rollercoaster seemed to suddenly veer all over the place. The narrative of the story started to become dramatic in a way that, for me, seemed a little over-the-top, and it felt a bit disorienting. However, the ride did even out, and without giving anything away, I was left feeling very satisfied and emotional in all the right ways in the end. All in all, I was happy to have finally read this book. I feel the good outweighed what didn't work for me.
The Storyteller's Secret is a book that has long been in my TBR stacks, and the timing finally felt perfect for reading it. To be honest, I'm struggling to figure out exactly how I feel about this one. It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride for me. For a good long while, I was coasting along, immersed in the story and the setting. My senses were alive as I tasted the culinary wonders of India, greeted my fellow women in their richly-colored saris, felt the sun baring down on me. I ached right along with Jaya as she mourned her three miscarriages. And I was loving the back and forth shifts in both time and perspective. Then, somewhere nearing the end of the book, the rollercoaster seemed to suddenly veer all over the place. The narrative of the story started to become dramatic in a way that, for me, seemed a little over-the-top, and it felt a bit disorienting. However, the ride did even out, and without giving anything away, I was left feeling very satisfied and emotional in all the right ways in the end. All in all, I was happy to have finally read this book. I feel the good outweighed what didn't work for me.