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Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride from India
Dreamcatcher is a woman’s immigrant journey in America during the nineties—one that opens her to a new world where a larger-than-life call awaits.
Shila’s stable life in India crumbles the day her husband, Asim, declares he’s going to America. She follows Asim to the faraway foreign land, assured by her father’s “This man has ambition. He’ll rise to the top.”
Frustrated by her husband’s career ambitions, Shila learns to bring up their daughter in a new culture with little help. Asim spends most of his time traveling for work, busy in his own dreams. Years later, the crisis peaks when Asim returns to India and their daughter will soon go to college, three thousand miles away, leaving an empty nest.
Asim gives Shila an ultimatum. She must choose between returning with him to India, or staying in America alone. Should she answer the desires of her heart, putting her secure marriage of twenty years at stake?
Shila’s stable life in India crumbles the day her husband, Asim, declares he’s going to America. She follows Asim to the faraway foreign land, assured by her father’s “This man has ambition. He’ll rise to the top.”
Frustrated by her husband’s career ambitions, Shila learns to bring up their daughter in a new culture with little help. Asim spends most of his time traveling for work, busy in his own dreams. Years later, the crisis peaks when Asim returns to India and their daughter will soon go to college, three thousand miles away, leaving an empty nest.
Asim gives Shila an ultimatum. She must choose between returning with him to India, or staying in America alone. Should she answer the desires of her heart, putting her secure marriage of twenty years at stake?
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 16, 2023
About the author
Dita Basu
3 books3 followers Anindita Basu aka Dita Basu is a writer from Walnut Creek, a quaint suburb near San Francisco, where she raised her family and lived for over forty years. Originally from India, she writes and publishes her works in two languages: her mother tongue, Bengali, and English.
Retired from her teaching career, Dita now immerses herself in writing. She is an active member of the California Writers Club and her favorite job is working for the Young Authors contest event.
When the muse abandons, she fiddles with beads. She also loves to travel with her husband to faraway places.
Her most recent work, a women’s fiction – Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride from India is the emotional journey of a newcomer during the nineties and the setting is Bay Area California.
Shadow Birds: Story of a Young girl during the Partition of India published in 2019 under Anindita Basu is a Young Adult historical novel.
If you are interested in reading her short stories please drop her a note at www.Ditabasu.com/contact
Please leave a review after reading, it will keep her motivated to write more. And keep in touch: www.Ditabasu.com
Retired from her teaching career, Dita now immerses herself in writing. She is an active member of the California Writers Club and her favorite job is working for the Young Authors contest event.
When the muse abandons, she fiddles with beads. She also loves to travel with her husband to faraway places.
Her most recent work, a women’s fiction – Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride from India is the emotional journey of a newcomer during the nineties and the setting is Bay Area California.
Shadow Birds: Story of a Young girl during the Partition of India published in 2019 under Anindita Basu is a Young Adult historical novel.
If you are interested in reading her short stories please drop her a note at www.Ditabasu.com/contact
Please leave a review after reading, it will keep her motivated to write more. And keep in touch: www.Ditabasu.com
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 10, 2023
I love supporting indie authors and Dita Basu is a special indie author to me as she is my childhood friend’s mother and an absolute gem of a woman.
Her latest novel follows the story of a young Bengali woman, Shila, who is newly married to Asim who excites her into leaving her homeland in India for big dreams of success and prosperity in America. But as Shila comes to NY as an immigrant, she finds that American life isn’t as wonderful as she expected and the dreams of her husband are just out of reach.
Shila’s journey in the US continues on to the SF Bay Area where the bulk of the novel takes place. Asim leaves for years on end to work in other locations while Shila learns how to navigate her new country along with her young daughter. There she forges new friendships and find her sense of identity and purpose.
I loved reading this novel and found so much of it resonated with me as the daughter of immigrants and life in the Bay Area in the 1980’s and 1990’s where I grew up. Shila’s story is interspersed with stories told to her by her grandmother. As a reader, I rejoiced in Shila’s triumphs and was frustrated when she was ghosted by her husband. But overall, the journey of Shila’s self discovery is uplifting and hopeful.
Thank you to the author, Dita Basu, for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is available NOW on Amazon.
Her latest novel follows the story of a young Bengali woman, Shila, who is newly married to Asim who excites her into leaving her homeland in India for big dreams of success and prosperity in America. But as Shila comes to NY as an immigrant, she finds that American life isn’t as wonderful as she expected and the dreams of her husband are just out of reach.
Shila’s journey in the US continues on to the SF Bay Area where the bulk of the novel takes place. Asim leaves for years on end to work in other locations while Shila learns how to navigate her new country along with her young daughter. There she forges new friendships and find her sense of identity and purpose.
I loved reading this novel and found so much of it resonated with me as the daughter of immigrants and life in the Bay Area in the 1980’s and 1990’s where I grew up. Shila’s story is interspersed with stories told to her by her grandmother. As a reader, I rejoiced in Shila’s triumphs and was frustrated when she was ghosted by her husband. But overall, the journey of Shila’s self discovery is uplifting and hopeful.
Thank you to the author, Dita Basu, for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review. This book is available NOW on Amazon.
April 22, 2023
A deep emotional journey
Young bride Shila follows her husband Asim from a stable, known life in India to the foreign shores of New York City. Fueled by the hope that this new land will embrace her and her family, she struggles to cope with strange customs and a melting pot of different people. Sadly, her husband’s career keeps him occupied for long hours, away from home. And when Asim is transferred to another city, and then even farther away, his absence makes little difference.
The journey of Shila from India to America is not just one of geography but one of deep emotion. The author reveals, chapter by chapter, the slow conquering of Shila’s loneliness and fear, the worry about her daughter Jaya growing up without a father, the awkwardness of making friends and securing a place in the community. The writing style pulls you along like a slow-moving current, going deeper and deeper as you watch the characters grow and mature and come into their own. There are lovely descriptions and wonderful stories from the Muhabarata, which show the ancient tapestry of India’s history. And When Shila journeys back to India for a family celebration, you plunge into a landscape full of sound and color and taste that’s rich and vivid, a delight for the senses.
The story comes to a climax with an ultimatum from Asim. An ultimatum that will test Shila’s heart and desires. Any woman who has ever searched for her identity will recognize this timeless struggle of self-discovery.
Young bride Shila follows her husband Asim from a stable, known life in India to the foreign shores of New York City. Fueled by the hope that this new land will embrace her and her family, she struggles to cope with strange customs and a melting pot of different people. Sadly, her husband’s career keeps him occupied for long hours, away from home. And when Asim is transferred to another city, and then even farther away, his absence makes little difference.
The journey of Shila from India to America is not just one of geography but one of deep emotion. The author reveals, chapter by chapter, the slow conquering of Shila’s loneliness and fear, the worry about her daughter Jaya growing up without a father, the awkwardness of making friends and securing a place in the community. The writing style pulls you along like a slow-moving current, going deeper and deeper as you watch the characters grow and mature and come into their own. There are lovely descriptions and wonderful stories from the Muhabarata, which show the ancient tapestry of India’s history. And When Shila journeys back to India for a family celebration, you plunge into a landscape full of sound and color and taste that’s rich and vivid, a delight for the senses.
The story comes to a climax with an ultimatum from Asim. An ultimatum that will test Shila’s heart and desires. Any woman who has ever searched for her identity will recognize this timeless struggle of self-discovery.
Read
April 22, 2023The book 'Dream Catcher' by Dita Basu is a fictional story about the hopes, struggles and aspirations of an Indian couple living in America." The story follows Shila and Asim who came to America like countless others to lay a claim to Asim’s idea of the American dream. They face various challenges, including deep cultural differences, family expectations, societal prejudices and personal struggles, as they try to make a life for themselves in a new country with vastly different social norms and culture. In the end one of them survives and becomes the change they came to America to be, and the other does not.
The author isn’t really an omniscient narrator, there is no authoritative voice, just an imagination which is just what the story needed.
Although the many references to India’s religion can get a bit confusing, it doesn’t distract from the narrative. The characters are relatable and well developed and the book is a deeply fascinating look into the lives of others. Whether you relate to it or not, it’ll keep you turning the pages to an unexpected ending. It isn’t a storybook ending, but it is the right ending.
Ann S
The author isn’t really an omniscient narrator, there is no authoritative voice, just an imagination which is just what the story needed.
Although the many references to India’s religion can get a bit confusing, it doesn’t distract from the narrative. The characters are relatable and well developed and the book is a deeply fascinating look into the lives of others. Whether you relate to it or not, it’ll keep you turning the pages to an unexpected ending. It isn’t a storybook ending, but it is the right ending.
Ann S
April 22, 2023
Just finished an early copy of Dreamcatcher by Dita Basu.
Beautiful story that follows a woman whose arranged husband moves her from India to America and then leaves her to raise their daughter alone while he works overseas. A story about dreams, hope, resilience, and strength, this novel weaves in American and Indian customs and culture as the main characters navigates her new and old self.
A great read about family, identity, motherhood, and making a life you deserve.
I received a copy early and this is an honest review
Beautiful story that follows a woman whose arranged husband moves her from India to America and then leaves her to raise their daughter alone while he works overseas. A story about dreams, hope, resilience, and strength, this novel weaves in American and Indian customs and culture as the main characters navigates her new and old self.
A great read about family, identity, motherhood, and making a life you deserve.
I received a copy early and this is an honest review
April 25, 2023
This was a delightful story, full of rich characterization, realistic settings and experiences, and a particularly lovely main character.
Dita Basu’s new novel, Dreamcatcher, follows young wife Shila and her daughter Jaya as they are whisked away from everything they’ve ever known in India into a foreign culture and new life in the US.
Sweet Shila is planning a big party to honour Asim, her husband, for his success in his company. At the same time, he’s daydreaming of leaving India, something she couldn’t even imagine. When Asim parks her and Jaya in a cold flat in NYC while he works abroad, Shila is left to make a home and connections for her daughter and herself. Just as she makes headway, Asim abruptly moves the family to California, then leaves again. Shila again picks up the threads to support Jaya, connecting with her neighbours and making friends, while trying to make sense of the cultural differences and pondering the traditional stories that inform her way of living.
I was drawn into Shila’s world, feeling the struggle to fit her traditional upbringing into the new world her daughter was experiencing. Friends and her sister-in-law help her see other women are also finding their way. Change comes for Shila, but it is incremental and realistic. Much as I wanted her to bust out of her marriage, she finds her own way, consistent with her values.
This was a delightful story, full of rich characterization, realistic settings and experiences, and a particularly lovely main character.
Shila thinks her problem is her husband’s daydreams. If only he’d stick with one thing her life would be okay. But as he flits about, dragging her and her daughter with him to foreign places like New York and California, she finds her own dreams and the courage to claim them.
Read this book!
Dita Basu’s new novel, Dreamcatcher, follows young wife Shila and her daughter Jaya as they are whisked away from everything they’ve ever known in India into a foreign culture and new life in the US.
Sweet Shila is planning a big party to honour Asim, her husband, for his success in his company. At the same time, he’s daydreaming of leaving India, something she couldn’t even imagine. When Asim parks her and Jaya in a cold flat in NYC while he works abroad, Shila is left to make a home and connections for her daughter and herself. Just as she makes headway, Asim abruptly moves the family to California, then leaves again. Shila again picks up the threads to support Jaya, connecting with her neighbours and making friends, while trying to make sense of the cultural differences and pondering the traditional stories that inform her way of living.
I was drawn into Shila’s world, feeling the struggle to fit her traditional upbringing into the new world her daughter was experiencing. Friends and her sister-in-law help her see other women are also finding their way. Change comes for Shila, but it is incremental and realistic. Much as I wanted her to bust out of her marriage, she finds her own way, consistent with her values.
This was a delightful story, full of rich characterization, realistic settings and experiences, and a particularly lovely main character.
Shila thinks her problem is her husband’s daydreams. If only he’d stick with one thing her life would be okay. But as he flits about, dragging her and her daughter with him to foreign places like New York and California, she finds her own dreams and the courage to claim them.
Read this book!
July 10, 2023
Tales about women immigrants in the United States are neither new nor few. Stories about immigrant brides from India are not novel either. But the full arc of an immigrant bride’s life from learning to live in - and eventually love - a foreign country completely on her own is exquisitely presented by author Dita Basu. The only thing constant in Shila, the protagonist’s life, is the prolonged absence of her rather restless, reckless, and undetermined husband, Asim. She’s dragged from her village near Kolkata, India, to New York and then to California by Asim who keeps shuttling from one job to another in different cities and countries.
Basu takes us through more than a decade in Shila’s life as she learns to drive, teach in a montessori school, make lifelong friends, get higher education degrees, and give back abundantly to her community, while raising a daughter and tolerating her itinerant husband’s mockery during his rare visits. Basu doesn’t spend too many words on the frustrations Shila encounters in her marriage. Rather, with the right economy of words, Basu captures the startling betrayal only a spouse can inflict on the other. Her rapid prose replicates the breathlessness with which a single mother runs through everyday life to raise a daughter and balance her own professional life.
The long references to episodes in The Mahabharata lend a depth to the story of a young woman being tested every day. The decisions Shila takes in her life to find self-fulfillment echo, in some ways, what the legendary Draupadi perhaps could not do in her royal life. “I fell in love with myself” is the most important realization that feminists of all times and regions have advocated for. If you want to read about an immigrant woman who defines her own life without needing to use the master’s tools, Dreamcatcher should be your pick.
Basu takes us through more than a decade in Shila’s life as she learns to drive, teach in a montessori school, make lifelong friends, get higher education degrees, and give back abundantly to her community, while raising a daughter and tolerating her itinerant husband’s mockery during his rare visits. Basu doesn’t spend too many words on the frustrations Shila encounters in her marriage. Rather, with the right economy of words, Basu captures the startling betrayal only a spouse can inflict on the other. Her rapid prose replicates the breathlessness with which a single mother runs through everyday life to raise a daughter and balance her own professional life.
The long references to episodes in The Mahabharata lend a depth to the story of a young woman being tested every day. The decisions Shila takes in her life to find self-fulfillment echo, in some ways, what the legendary Draupadi perhaps could not do in her royal life. “I fell in love with myself” is the most important realization that feminists of all times and regions have advocated for. If you want to read about an immigrant woman who defines her own life without needing to use the master’s tools, Dreamcatcher should be your pick.
April 22, 2023
I had a lump in my throat as I finished this wonderful book. I didn't want to put it down. The writing is lovely and brilliant! Dita Basu put together a great story, full of meaning and messages for every reader. Her ability to weave together two cultures into a cohesive story left me in awe. Her writing is lyrical and poetic. There were many passages that took my breath away as I stopped to read them again and again.
Dreamcatcher handles sensitive topics masterfully! Wonderful Hindu tales of King Drupad and Draupadi are woven throughout the story, highlighting how two diverse cultures can be the same and different at the same time.
Dreamcatcher is a perfect book club read. There is so much to discuss! The plight of women in India and the United States is such an important topic. Other thought-provoking topics include:
1. The importance of early childhood education.
2. The beauty of women's friendships.
3. The complexity of domestic violence.
4. The difficult (and wonderful!) role of women raising children alone.
5. Women's ability to dig deep and do what needs to be done in tough situations.
I highly recommend this book. Five Stars isn’t enough!
Dreamcatcher handles sensitive topics masterfully! Wonderful Hindu tales of King Drupad and Draupadi are woven throughout the story, highlighting how two diverse cultures can be the same and different at the same time.
Dreamcatcher is a perfect book club read. There is so much to discuss! The plight of women in India and the United States is such an important topic. Other thought-provoking topics include:
1. The importance of early childhood education.
2. The beauty of women's friendships.
3. The complexity of domestic violence.
4. The difficult (and wonderful!) role of women raising children alone.
5. Women's ability to dig deep and do what needs to be done in tough situations.
I highly recommend this book. Five Stars isn’t enough!
April 22, 2023
From Anne Murray
The story is a simple one about a young bride moving from India with her husband to America, and of the life she makes for herself and her family. But it is so much more than that! I really enjoyed experiencing this new world through the eyes of Shila as she makes new friends, raises her daughter Jaya, moves from East to West coasts, and manages to grow into a very self confident woman . Her husband is gone most of the time, working on overseas contracts, so Shila learns life skills she didn't expect to ever have to, drive a car, find a job, take night courses, all with little encouragement from her family. The ending was a surprise. The author makes this simple story come alive with many vignettes and examples showing how funny, crazy, and scary, too, life can be. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐.
April 22, 2023
Dreamcatcher: Story of an Immigrant Bride From India is a heartfelt account of a Bengali immigrant to the United States and the trials of leaving home and building a new community. I recommend this engaging novel that reveals how a woman overcomes personal and cultural challenges by finding strength in herself and her friends.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews