Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. The unknown errors of our lives. New York: Doubleday,c2001.
A collection of short stories focussing on women, striving to create a balance between the present and the past and forging a new identity for themselves. Characters are searching or escaping – from what? The “Blooming Season for Cacti” depicts a young woman fleeing from the riots of Bombay embarking on a voyage to California. Mira, finds employment at an Indian restaurant and a home with the restaurateur’s mistress. However, things are no different in Sacramento.
Another short story “Mrs Dutta Writes a Letter” portrays a widow living with her son’s family in suburban Sunnyvale. She struggles to convey a glowing account of her new life to a friend in India – however she conveys her struggles with complicated machines and disrespectful grandchildren – much to the embarrassment of her daughter-in-law.
Perhaps the most beautiful story in this collection is “The Names of Stars in Bengali,” where a San Francisco wife and mother, visits her native village to see her mother. Both mother and daughter understand and realise the emotional dislocation caused by “immigration”- like stepping into a time machine which makes all of them maladjusted.
An excellent read for students to appreciate the emotional scars that are left on people who take this perilous journey.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was born in Kolkata, India. she resides in the USA and is the co-founder and former president of Maitri, a helpline founded in 1991 for South Asian women dealing with domestic abuse.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was born in Kolkata, India. she resides in the USA and is the co-founder and former president of Maitri, a helpline founded in 1991 for South Asian women dealing with domestic abuse.
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