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Sisters
Ms De shocks India, and much of its literary set like no other writer today.' --New York Times They were beautiful, wealthy and sought after. They were sisters and they were at war. When her parents die in an air crash, Mikki Hiralal suddenly finds herself the owner of the sprawling Hiralal industrial empire. Abandoning her studies in the United States, she returns to Bombay, only to find her father's business affairs in a mess. Almost bankrupt, beset on all sides by creditors, takeover tycoons and unreliable associates, Mikki realizes there is only one person she can turn to for help--the beautiful Alisha, her father's illegitimate daughter. There is only one Alisha hates Mikki...In her new novel, set in the corrupt world of big business, Shobha De, the bestselling author of Socialite Evenings and Starry Nights, tells an engrossing story of two women who play for very high stakes, driven by ambition, lust, greed and hate.
232 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
4 people are currently reading
173 people want to read
About the author
Shobhaa Dé
61 books153 followersShobha Rajadhyaksha known as Shobhaa Dé is an Indian columnist and novelist. She graduated from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai with a degree in psychology. After making her name as a model, she began a career in journalism in 1970, during the course of which she founded and edited three magazines – Stardust, Society, and Celebrity.
In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of the Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Bombay lifestyles of the celebrities. At present, she is a freelance writer and columnist for several newspapers and magazines.
De is married to Dilip De, her second husband and they have six children from their first marriages. She lives in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.
In the 1980s, she contributed to the Sunday magazine section of the Times of India. In her columns, she used to explore the socialite life in Bombay lifestyles of the celebrities. At present, she is a freelance writer and columnist for several newspapers and magazines.
De is married to Dilip De, her second husband and they have six children from their first marriages. She lives in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 12, 2012
A must-NOT-read book. Not worth the time. nothing realistic or believable in this book. I dont recommend it.
December 5, 2010
In India she is known as an an author, socialite, celebrity, former beauty queen and model, columnist, designer and pen behind a number of popular television serials. A mouthful indeed.
Shobhaa Dé is also a role model to many young Indian women.
Born Shobhaa Rajadhyaksha on January 7, 1947, in Maharshtra, Dé went on to graduate from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, with a degree in psychology. After finishing college, this disarmingly beautiful woman, who also sports a tattoo on her bicep, made a name for herself as a model.
She started her career in journalism in 1970 and went on to edit popular magazines Stardust, Society and Celebrity.
She also writes regular columns in the Bombay Times, The Sunday Times and The Week.
After an amicable divorce from her first husband in 1984, she married Dilip Dé.
She wrote her first novel, Socialite Evenings, in 1988. Since then she has churned out books at an astonishing pace and each one shocks on a new level.
From arranged marriages to extra-marital affairs, from lesbian relationships to the streets where the seedy world of gangsters are highlighted, from the world of the rich and pampered to the single roomed apartment of the middle classes, nothing about life in Mumbai escapes Dé's critical eye.
The erotic content of her novels has made her a rather controversial novelist in conservative India. Despite the controversy around her work, she remains one of India's best-selling authors.
Sisters
Mikki Hiralal has it all - wealth, class, beauty, and a carefree life in the US at a prestigious university.
But when her parents die suddenly and tragically in a plane crash, her world comes crashing down around her.
Suddenly, not only is she an orphan, but she also inherits her father's crumbling empire at the same time that she learns she has a stepsister who is just four months younger than her.
But Alisha hates Mikki. Born as the illegitimate daughter of "The Seth" as their father is known, she is always the outsider. She lives in her shadow always. The irony is that while Mikki inherits the family empire, it is Alisha who ends up with the money.
The Hiralal empire is almost bankrupt and it will take a miracle or a ruthless tycoon to save it.
Alisha's trust fund, however, has paid out dividends and at last she is able to move on up in the world. But her consuming hatred of Mikki means she is always comparing her achievements to Mikki's.
In the cut-throat world of business, Mikki has no idea who she can trust, and soon finds herself making a number of decisions that she pays for dearly. She finds herself, at the tender age 20, completely at the mercy of her abusive husband who already has a family with his mistress and forces Mikki to have an abortion.
Mikki's life hits rock bottom when her husband kicks her out of his home and strips her of all of her family's possessions except the family home.
Alisha should be happy, but life is not that simple.
Her realty business is thriving. But, between a mother who is a substance abuser and her love for a married man, Alisha cannot find happiness. When her mother dies, Alisha also hits rock bottom and the only person who can save her is Mikki.
It is a battle and the two sisters have all the odds stacked against them.
Shobhaa Dé is also a role model to many young Indian women.
Born Shobhaa Rajadhyaksha on January 7, 1947, in Maharshtra, Dé went on to graduate from St Xavier's College, Mumbai, with a degree in psychology. After finishing college, this disarmingly beautiful woman, who also sports a tattoo on her bicep, made a name for herself as a model.
She started her career in journalism in 1970 and went on to edit popular magazines Stardust, Society and Celebrity.
She also writes regular columns in the Bombay Times, The Sunday Times and The Week.
After an amicable divorce from her first husband in 1984, she married Dilip Dé.
She wrote her first novel, Socialite Evenings, in 1988. Since then she has churned out books at an astonishing pace and each one shocks on a new level.
From arranged marriages to extra-marital affairs, from lesbian relationships to the streets where the seedy world of gangsters are highlighted, from the world of the rich and pampered to the single roomed apartment of the middle classes, nothing about life in Mumbai escapes Dé's critical eye.
The erotic content of her novels has made her a rather controversial novelist in conservative India. Despite the controversy around her work, she remains one of India's best-selling authors.
Sisters
Mikki Hiralal has it all - wealth, class, beauty, and a carefree life in the US at a prestigious university.
But when her parents die suddenly and tragically in a plane crash, her world comes crashing down around her.
Suddenly, not only is she an orphan, but she also inherits her father's crumbling empire at the same time that she learns she has a stepsister who is just four months younger than her.
But Alisha hates Mikki. Born as the illegitimate daughter of "The Seth" as their father is known, she is always the outsider. She lives in her shadow always. The irony is that while Mikki inherits the family empire, it is Alisha who ends up with the money.
The Hiralal empire is almost bankrupt and it will take a miracle or a ruthless tycoon to save it.
Alisha's trust fund, however, has paid out dividends and at last she is able to move on up in the world. But her consuming hatred of Mikki means she is always comparing her achievements to Mikki's.
In the cut-throat world of business, Mikki has no idea who she can trust, and soon finds herself making a number of decisions that she pays for dearly. She finds herself, at the tender age 20, completely at the mercy of her abusive husband who already has a family with his mistress and forces Mikki to have an abortion.
Mikki's life hits rock bottom when her husband kicks her out of his home and strips her of all of her family's possessions except the family home.
Alisha should be happy, but life is not that simple.
Her realty business is thriving. But, between a mother who is a substance abuser and her love for a married man, Alisha cannot find happiness. When her mother dies, Alisha also hits rock bottom and the only person who can save her is Mikki.
It is a battle and the two sisters have all the odds stacked against them.
October 22, 2016
A typical Bollywood movie plot with some good vocabulary thrown here and there. This was my first Shobha De novel and I finished it only because half read books haunt me. Highly disappointing read
March 22, 2018
Read it way back in 2009. This was my first and last novel by Shobhaa De.
Read
August 15, 2020Review Coming Soon
January 25, 2021
Not for me. Didn't really read after page 50.
October 27, 2021
⚠️Don't read this⚠️
January 17, 2023
Here's the thing with most Indian writers of fiction: They should probably stick to writing clichéd Bollywood scripts and spare us these cringeworthy "novels".
September 1, 2014
After reading Strange Obsession written by Shobhaa De, I had decided not to read her again. But in 2011, the year I spent without a job and was ‘omnivorous’ in reading books De’s “Sisters” caught my eyes. Since there was nothing else to read, I started opening up the pages of the novel. As usual, there is a lot of sex in the book. Nobody minds sex if it fits the book and masterfully crafted by the author. But in De’s case she just throws sex without a sound reason. She just probes the readers’ pockets than minds.
In Sisters you meet two girls. One of them is Mallika (Mikki) while the other is Alisha. There is a lot of rivalry against each other as they are only half-sisters and Alisha is the illegitimate child of her father’s (Hirlal) extramarital relationship with another woman.
With the father’s untimely death, Mikki Hiralal all of a sudden becomes the proprietor of the sprawling Hiralal industrial empire. She abandons her studies in the USA and returns to Bombay, but finds out that her father’s business affairs in a total mess. Almost bankrupt, with a bunch of creditors from all sides she seeks help from Alisha, her half-sister. Unfortunately Alisha detests Mikki. The sisters share a love-hate relationship but towards the end they start to appreciate one another.
In Sisters you meet two girls. One of them is Mallika (Mikki) while the other is Alisha. There is a lot of rivalry against each other as they are only half-sisters and Alisha is the illegitimate child of her father’s (Hirlal) extramarital relationship with another woman.
With the father’s untimely death, Mikki Hiralal all of a sudden becomes the proprietor of the sprawling Hiralal industrial empire. She abandons her studies in the USA and returns to Bombay, but finds out that her father’s business affairs in a total mess. Almost bankrupt, with a bunch of creditors from all sides she seeks help from Alisha, her half-sister. Unfortunately Alisha detests Mikki. The sisters share a love-hate relationship but towards the end they start to appreciate one another.
April 4, 2013
I liked the way the book is written. Its a story about two sisters who have a common father but different mothers. Both of them raised under very different conditions. Both of them share a common fortune. And how they come closer to each other because of it.
December 25, 2015
Ich muss zugeben, es ist schön länger her als ich dies Gelesen habe. Aber ich war sehr enttäuscht als es zu Ende war. Der Klappentext war viel interessanter, als die Geschichte es dann doch war, also das ist meine Meinung und Empfindung.
January 25, 2012
India's Danielle Steele....need I say more. Light reading if you like that sort of book.
June 5, 2013
Typical Shobaa De material!!
November 20, 2013
Interesting, but you have to willingly suspend a LOT of disbelief.
September 30, 2019
What a disappointment! I had expected the book to be gripping but it was so flat and uninteresting.
August 31, 2015
Another failed attempt with Indian authors :(
May 1, 2016
A nightcap.
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March 19, 2018Nice...
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews