Invisible Lives

by Anjali Banerjee

From the acclaimed author of Imaginary Men comes an enchanting new novel about a young woman with an uncanny ability to see deep into every heart but her own. Lakshmi Sen was born with a magical ability to perceive the secret longings in others. Putting aside her own dreams to help run her widowed mother's struggling Seattle sari shop, Mystic Elegance, Lakshmi knows exactly how to bring happiness to customers -- from lonely immigrants to starry-eyed young brides. And to honor her father's dying wish, she has agreed to marry a respectable Indian doctor who will uphold her family's traditions. But when a famous Indian actress chooses Mystic Elegance to provide her wedding trousseau, Lakshmi finds herself falling for the actress's sexy chauffeur -- all-American Nick Dunbar -- and her powers seem to desert her just as she needs them most. As Nick draws Lakshmi into his world, however, new dreams awaken in her, and she begins to uncover deeper, startling longings in her mother, her friends, her fiance, and even herself. But choosing between Nick and her fiance seems an impossible task, like intuiting the very nature of true love. Is it instantly recognizable or does it need time to grow? And how can she possibly know for sure?

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Romance, India, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Marriage

280 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2006

About the author

I was born in India, raised in Canada and California, and I now live in the Pacific Northwest, in a cottage in the woods, with my husband and six rescued cats.

I've always loved to write. When I was seven, I penned my first story about an abandoned puppy on a beach in Bengal. Then, inspired by my maternal grandmother—an English writer who lived in India—I wrote a mystery, The Green Secret, at the age of nine. I illustrated the book, stapled the pages together and pasted a copyright notice inside the front cover. After that, I churned out a series of mysteries and adventure novels with preposterous premises and impossible plots.

Growing up in a small town in Manitoba, Canada, my favorite family event was the weekly drive to the garbage dump to watch for bears. I also loved jaunts to the library, where I checked out the same Curious George books dozens of times. I adored a picture book called The Bear Who Couldn’t Sleep, starring a baby bear who refused to hibernate in winter. My favorite authors were Enid Blyton, Agatha Christie, Alexander Key, C.S. Lewis and others. Every night my dad read to me from C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia or Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

After I grew up and finished university, I tried on jobs like new sets of clothes before rediscovering my love for writing. Since then, my fiction has appeared in several literary journals and an anthology, and I was a contributing writer for three regional history books and local newspapers before I began writing novels.

I've now written five novels for youngsters and four for grownups, including ENCHANTING LILY. Romantic Times magazine gave ENCHANTING LILY a top rating of 4.5 stars: "This is a wonderful story with lovable characters who are trying to start fresh after tragedy touches their lives. Readers will fall head over heels for a four-legged character who almost upstages the two-legged leads.”

Of my recent novel, HAUNTING JASMINE, Melinda Bargreen of The Seattle Times wrote, “Banerjee invites the reader into her colorful, hopeful world, one in which the Northwest island tides coexist with the ghost of Julia Child, Charles Dickens’ mirror, and a sari or two.”

I've had many more wonderful reviews, but like any author, I know what it's like to receive a not-so-nice review. So I'm going to review only the books I love. I want to put positive energy out into the world.

Thank you for reading my books!

Reviews

[Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

INVISIBLE LIVES is a sweet and sort of predictable read in that chick-lit way, but the Indian and paranormal twists make it good fun and add a unique element to the more predictable parts of the story.

Lakshmi is a powerful and memorable character, and her story is a fun, fast-paced read. The story is quite well-written, and Lakshmi's extra abilities are approached very interestingly, as just a part of who she is rather than the entire story. It's an excellent book, but it does lack a bit of a spark. I'd still pick up more by Anjali Banerjee, and recommend this novel.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited to hear about this author.  I love light and fluffy books with magical realism.  A book set in a sari shop by an ownvoices author sounded wonderful.

Lakshmi Sen is visited by the goddess Lakshmi in utero and given a gift of being able to know what people want.  She is also made incredibly beautiful but is warned to hide that beauty for reasons that aren't clear.  It is never really discussed after the first part of the story either.

She co-owns a sari shop with her mother.  She can tell what customers truly need when they come in.  She's developing a reputation for it.  That draws a Bollywood actress to the store for her wedding outfits.  But Lakshmi's gift disappears when she enters the store with her driver.

This is the where the book started to lose me.  The driver, Nick, is the guy we are supposed to root for in the story.  But he doesn't seem to offer anything good to Lakshmi.  Just his presence is harming her.  She loses customers when he is around because she is unable to do her job.

There is colorism in this book.  An elderly customer comes in to the store and starts talking about how she uses skin lightening cream.   It could almost be dismissed as the fancy of a woman who is a ridiculous character but it isn't pointed out as such.  Then later a woman is being described as ugly and part of the description is how her skin is so dark.  Later, the elderly woman from the shop is complimented and she says that the skin lightening cream is working.

Nick makes several casually racist comments to Lakshmi that aren't commented on.  He invites her to meet his family.  He says that his sister would love to try on saris because she likes "ethnic clothes."  I was like, "Excuse me?" but nothing is mentioned about it in the story.  Then when he gets there his mother "compliments" Lakshmi by telling her that she looks so exotic.  Yeah.  Then he all but orders her to forget about her trip to India to meet the man her mother wants her to marry.  On the basis of what?  They barely know each other and she's supposed to give up all previous plans for him?  This guy seems like a control freak that she should get away from quickly.

The book never redeemed Nick for me.  It tried but he is still interfering with her work even though the book tried to spin it more positively.

Let's count this one as an 'I read it so you don't have to' book.

 This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rats. This was a book I really, really wanted to like. As a friend remarked, the bones of the book were really good, it just didn't have the flesh.

Lakshmi's beauty was part of the theme of invisible lives, but it was remarked upon on almost every other page, which got old quickly. Plus, it took away from exploring the invisible lives of the other characters. there was also a little about Lakshmi's conflict between the man she wanted and the man her parents (and her culture) expected her to have. The resolution of her conflict is intertwined with the idea of invisible lives, but the resolution is presented, rather than explored.

Also, there was a fair amount of "as you know Bob, in Bengali culture..." I wish that either it had been left out of the story entirely and I was given credit as the reader for figuring it out myself or explored in how the characters acted and felt, rather than what they said to one another.

I enjoyed the bits about the sari shop, the meaning of saris, and how the women interact with them. That was lovely, lovely, lovely. I found myself browsing saris online because I've always loved the look of them and the book made the actuality of them more interesting and more beautiful.

From what I read, people liked Imaginary Men better and maybe I'll try that book of Banerjee's.

[Hal Evergreen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted this book to be good. I was looking forward to reading a romance novel featuring an Indian-American heroine for a change, since non-white protagonists are so underrepresented in the genre. But while some of the references to Indian culture and the descriptions of the saris in Lakshmi's shop were interesting, as a whole, this book was a huge disappointment for me. The story was just too simplistic, the writing style was too bland, and the characters were too flat and uninteresting. This story might have made an enjoyable, fluffy 90-minute movie, but it didn't have enough substance for a satisfying novel.

Also, Lakshmi annoyed the crap out of me. The only thing worse than a Mary Sue who is unaware of her own beauty is a Mary Sue who is fully aware of her own beauty and has to mention it at least once per page to be certain that her readers don't forget that she looks like a goddess. *Gag*

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of interesting but lacked a believable romance. I enjoyed the sari shop setting but I was really annoyed at how often characters were shrieking or screeching at each other. Nick was a complete cipher of a person, except for having a great family in contrast to her previous boyfriend's family who could never have accepted an Indian. I found it odd that the sari shop was supposedly doing poorly yet they were able to travel back and forth to India with no apparent concern. Many other jarring details that I could have forgiven in a better romance. This one just failed in that regard.

[Michele · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was boring. It was predictable and I really wasn't crazy about the writing. For example, the main character is supposed to be beautiful. Well, in every other sentence the author wrote how pretty she was, she is so stunning, she is so gorgeous, she created car accidents because of her beauty....OK I GET IT SHE IS BEAUTIFUL. It was a bit ridiculous!

[Jeliya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot was definitely enjoyable, engaging and rather quick-paced. It was fluffy, colourful and really descriptive and I'm positive that there were many readers who related to Lakshmi's experiences such as her family dynamic, her relationship with her mother, her sense of culture and self and her interactions with her friends. I thought the writing style brought out the themes of family, nationalism and culture really well. I really felt consumed with her internal conflict of loyalty to culture and attraction to Nick.

Lakshmi's beauty was supposed to be a subtle theme - subtle and not to be flaunted - but it was mentioned way too frequently to have that effect.
"Once a bicyclistic crushed into a telephone pole, knocking out two teeth and broke his nose because he was paying more attention to me than the road ahead of him,"
"Only now can I modulate my appearance, downplay it when I need to, let my hair down at opportune moments,"
"Most men do when I'm not in my daytime disguise" after she is called beautiful,
"You must not take off your glasses when Asha Rao is here," (which is funny, because imagine only glasses totally obscuring her beauty) and
"I forgot how my natural looks affect men."
These lines defeated the purpose and the message of the prologue.

I wish there was more talk of Mrs. Sen and Mr. Basu and more development of Nick. Lakshmi prefers Nick to Ravi, but I wish there was more of this epiphany and the journey of how she came to that realisation.

Nonetheless, the skeleton of the book is fantastic. I definitely enjoyed it, but some details detract from the main, overarching themes. It's a little predictable, but it's still worth checking out if chick flicks or a rom-coms appeal to you.

[Erin (PT) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like Invisible Lives more than I did. I did enjoy it, but in the end I found the conceit better than the execution.

The main flaw of the book, I feel, is it's first person point of view. First person isn't a deal breaker for me; I don't have preferences in that respect, but there are intrinsic limitations to each point of view choice. First person is often a 'telling' point of view (versus showing), which is a harder emotional sell, and requires the reader to believe that the narrator is a reasonably reliable narrator. As well, on some level, its success depends on you finding the narrator, if not likeable, than at least relatable.

I don't think the problem here is cultural, at least in the respect that Banerjee does a good job of keeping her protagonist Lakshmi's situation/dilemma universal—the pressure of following family's expectation against following one's own heart. Where Banerjee fails for me, first of all, is in Lakshmi herself.

It doesn't bother me that Lakshmi is devastatingly beautiful; for one thing, it doesn't feel like Banerjee makes much of Lakshmi's beauty except as a demonstration of Lakshmi's endless kindness in hiding her beauty for the benefit of others. Banerjee doesn't really fall into the main Mary-Sue trap of having Lakshmi be irresistible to all men because of her beauty, either, so it's easily hand-waveable. But, as mentioned, there is Lakshmi's huge and boundless kindness to go along with her beauty. Part of it is encoded in the story itself; the story tips over into magical realism with Lakshmi's empathetic "knowing", an extrasensory perception that gives her glimpses into people's minds and hearts to see their topmost longings, sorrows and joys. The influx of emotion from other people drives Lakshmi to help wherever she can—largely in the selection of perfect saris for her customers—and can be seen, in one sense, as self-protective.

As well, Lakshmi's benevolent kindness is simultaneously shown as her weakness; her inability to let go of the concerns, hurts and expectations of others obscures her views of her own desires and wants…but as flaws go, it is that most Mary-Sue of traits—her flaw is that she's too selfless, too giving, too invested in others to the detriment of herself. And Banerjee falls into that trap in the way she glorifies the flaw at the same time she makes it the heart of Lakshmi's conflict. The fact that Lakshmi regularly makes a martyr of herself is regarded more as a cute foible, a'la Bella Swan's (and all the other heroines like her) clumsiness, than an actual problem and, once realized, Lakshmi is able to (more or less) release her 'bad habit' (with no more effort than deciding to do so) and find perfect and permanent happiness with her chosen love.

As well, the romance itself is the paper-thin stuff of modern rom-com, based nearly quite literally on love at first sight and an acquaintanceship that encompasses one and a half dates. Though the story set up lends itself to these kinds of relationships—the crux of the story is how the lovers find their way to their HEA, thus the love itself has to be dispensed with quickly to get to that meaty middle—I don't really enjoy those kinds of stories because I'm not sold on the relationship. They don't feel substantive enough to convince me that these relationships have what it takes to make it past the first downturn and I always end up feeling vaguely cheated that I'm supposed to care very deeply about whether these people get together when I don't feel like I've been given a good enough reason for why they should be together. (or that I should care)

There are, however, things I think Banerjee did really well. As I said, I liked that, although Lakshmi was supposed to be very beautiful, Banerjee didn't make a great deal of that beauty. It was a side note and not central to the story. I liked that Lakshmi had both a loving relationship with her mother and conflict. I think it's very easy to err on one side or the other, for a lazy writer, and I think Banerjee did a reasonably good job of showing the pluses and minuses of a close-knit family; the support and love on one side and the constriction and pressure to conformity on the other. I also liked that Lakshmi had close female friends who supported each other wholeheartedly and without catlike pettiness or judgment. By and large, the relationships were open and honest and emotional without being overwrought.

The thing I liked most, I think, was that a lot of stories like this go one of two ways: either the Americanized child realizes their fault in trying to move away from their culture and rejects their Americanization or the child defies and disdains their restrictive, oppressive native culture and embraces the freedom of their Americanization. Banerjee chose to reject both options, keeping Lakshmi's deep love and connectedness to her culture front and center—and sympathetically so—while also acknowledging the parts of her that didn't strictly belong to Indian culture anymore. I also liked that, although Ravi was not destined to be with Lakshmi, Banerjee didn't take the easy way out and make him a jerk or otherwise horrible person (even when, I think, Lakshmi was almost looking for him to be). They were well suited to each other and got along and, if Lakshmi hadn't met her American beau (why can't I remember his name?) first, things with her and Ravi might very well have blossomed entirely differently. And I like the ambiguity of that; that it could have been love, except Lakshmi's heart had already spoken its (different) wants.

I feel as though the story almost would have made a better movie than book; it didn't feel like there was quite enough of the story there to be satisfying as a novel (and, at under 200 ebook pages, it's pretty short), but with the added visuals and time compression of the cinema, I think it would be a perfect offering for a 'chick flick', with decent crossover appeal. The book, however, relates unfortunately back to its title in that respect, because it feels like too much is invisible and thin as one of Lakshmi's silk saris.

[Jmp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember where or when I read this wonderful book. But here, years later, I still remember it as enchanting and haunting. I loved the mystical idea that she could perceive the just right Sari for each customer.

[Gina Marinacci keolker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the mystical world and insight into Indian culture in this book.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I needed something light and fluffy, and this delivered.

[Ankita · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story had so much promise but was let down by tedious cliches and bad writing.

[Cheryl Hamblyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Described as Indian chic lit, this was an enjoyable read if a bit predictable. Lovely information about saris and it describes the cultural and family influences upon younger people who are growing up in United States. How do they navigate family expectations? Well done.

[Sabine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schon im Bauch ihrer Mutter wurde Lakshmi von der Göttin prophezeit, dass sie eine besondere Gabe haben wird, dafür sagt sie ihr aber auch, dass der Weg zur wahren Liebe für sie steinig und lang sein wird. Mit fast 28 Jahren lebt Lakshmi mit ihrer Mutter in Seattle und führt einen Laden für Saris. Durch ihre besondere Gabe, kann sie die Sehnsüchte und Wünsche ihrer Kundinnen sehen und hat darum für alle Lebenslagen immer den passenden Sari zur Hand. Ihre Mutter sorgt sich währenddessen, den richtigen Mann für ihre Tochter zu finden; einen guten Mann indischer Abstammung und aus guten Hause. Schließlich sind arrangierte Heiraten in ihrer Kultur Tradition und bei Freunden, Verwandten und den eigenen Eltern hat es ja auch prima geklappt. Doch dann kommt eines Tages die berühmte Bollywood Schauspielerin Asha in ihren Laden, begleitet von ihrem Bodyguard, dem Amerikaner Nick Dunbar. Und plötzlich lässt ihre Gabe sie im Stich. Wann immer Nick in ihrer Nähe ist, ist es als wäre die Gabe auf Stumm geschaltet. Doch dafür kommen ganz andere Gefühle in ihr auf wenn Lakshmi in Nicks blaue Augen blickt und genau jetzt hat ihre Mutter den passenden indischen Heiratskandidaten gefunden und sie muss sich zwischen Tradition und Gefühlen entscheiden...


Was für ein zauberhaftes Buch, das einen in einen Wirbel aus Farben schickt und man hat das Gefühl mit Laksmi im Laden zu stehen und kann die bunten Saris förmlich vor sich sehen. Mich hat die Geschichte ein wenig an den Film "Die Hüterin der Gewürze" erinnert.

Ich mochte Laksmi sehr gerne und konnte ihr Dilemma gut verstehen. Einerseits ist sie im liberalen Amerika aufgewachsen, so fern von den Traditionen Indiens. Andererseits war sie immer umgeben von ihrer Mutter und ihren indischen Freunden und Verwandten und wurde dadurch dennoch mit der indischen Lebensweise erzogen. Als Europäer erscheinen einem diese arrangierten Heiraten völlig fremd und antiquiert doch auf den ersten Blick scheinen sie in dieser Geschichte prima zu funktionieren. Erst im Verlauf der Geschichte bekommt man auch einen Blick hinter die Kulissen zu sehen und sieht, dass doch nicht alles eitel Sonnenschein ist.

Ich vergebe für den traumhaften Ausflug ins bunte und traditionelle Indien volle 5 Sterne, denn mich hat die Geschichte komplett mitgerissen und ich konnte das Buch erst aus der Hand legen, als ich durch war. Es war mein erstes Buch von Anjali Banerjee aber ich denke nicht, dass es mein letztes war.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Cute chick lit story with an Indian flavor. Lakshmi is an Indian girl in her twenties who works at her mom's sari shop in Seattle and is under intense pressure to get married and have babies. She's gorgeous but wears prescription-less glasses to hide her beauty, and she has the ability to "see" the thoughts and desires of others in her vicinity, which makes her very skilled at picking the perfect saris for others. Her mom arranges for Lakshmi to become engaged to a guy in India, but then Lakshmi falls for an American who makes her inner eye disappear but her heart flutter.

I liked how this story was set within the Indian culture. The author did a good job showing the pressure that Lakshmi (and others in her position) felt to find a marriage that would uphold all their cultural traditions, and she did a great job explaining the various terms that relate to this culture. The characters were likable, although I thought the whole "I'm so beautiful!" thing on Lakshmi's part was overdone.

Some of the characters, such as Lakshmi's gal pals and the love interests, could have benefitted from a little bit more detail or fleshing out. Their personalities did not feel wholly real and instead almost superficial. I also thought the ending was a bit glossed over instead of being as detailed as I would have liked.

I wouldn't say I loved this book, since it didn't particularly stand out above others I've read, but it was a fun and easy read.

[Susan Oleksiw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a light, frothy book meant to entertain, and it does. Lakshmi Sen works with her mother in their sari shop in Seattle. Lakshmi has a special talent she calls "knowing," an ability to select exactly the right sari to help a customer through a rough patch or set things right in her life. It's an uncanny knack that suddenly flees her when Asha, the famous and glamorous movie star, enters her shop with her driver, Nick, as all-American as a man can be. He is, of course, young, handsome, and taken with Lakshmi.

Complications arise at once. Lakshmi's mother has been hoping to marry off her daughter in the perfect marriage, and the rest of the novel rings the changes on the concept of the arranged marriage for young Indian women in America. The story offers many examples, including a young woman who wants to study medicine in San Francisco, another who is terrified of marriage itself, and the older mothers all of whom have made good lives with husbands selected by their parents.

Nick is clearly taken with Lakshmi, and she with him, but her mother has betrothed her to the son of an old family long close to her family. The story and its ending are predictable, but the fun is in arriving at the ending and the characters Lakshmi helps along the way. Tucked into the predictable stories is one about Lakshmi's own mother.

This is an interesting take on the conflict young Indian American women face as they grow into their place in the world.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

INVISIBLE LIVES is a sweet and sort of predictable read in that chick-lit way, but the Indian and paranormal twists make it good fun and add a unique element to the more predictable parts of the story.

Lakshmi Sen is a young Indian woman in Seattle with an odd ability to read people's emotions. She physically sees them (this is the supernatural part of the story but it is not addressed as supernatural--the story is not about explaining this ability), and this gives her a great advantage where she works in her mother's sari shop.

Lakshmi's life is going along fairly smoothly. She has a good job, and her family has found a good Indian doctor for her to marry. The excitement that a Bollywood star brings to the shop, however, disrupts her life more than one would think. Whenever the star's handsome chauffeur is around, Lakshmi's special abilities that make her so good at finding the perfect sari for anyone, disappear.

What's a girl to do?

Lakshmi is a powerful and memorable character, and her story is a fun, fast-paced read. The story is quite well-written, and Lakshmi's extra abilities are approached very interestingly, as just a part of who she is rather than the entire story. It's an excellent book, but it does lack a bit of a spark. I'd still pick up more by Anjali Banerjee, and recommend this novel.

[Susy · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the raw & emotional story of Little Bee, I needed something lighthearted to read, & this novel fit the bill. I love stories about East Indian culture whether they are set in India or here in America with the cultural adaptations that must be made by the Indian immigrant families. This is the story of a very bright and attractive young woman who gives up a promising banking career to return to Seattle to help her widowed mother run a sari shop. Lakshmi, our heroine, has a magical ability to perceive the secret longings of others - friends & customers - by the feel of a sari that she chooses for each of them to wear for a special occasion. But of course, she can't use her invisible gift to make her own life run completely smoothly. With an arranged marriage on the horizon and an attractive American man competing for her attention what is she to do?

I like the idea of invisible lives; I think many of us have secret hopes or desires that might well not be shared with family or friends so it was fun to follow Lakshmi as she sorts out her own life. I am also glad that arranged marriages are not really a custom of 20th or 21st century America!

[GoldenjoyBazyll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

OK so whaty is not to ove! You have a woman named Lakshmi (goddess of preosperity) who has a very magical ability- sh can feel peoples emotions and know their secret desires. Would I love to be able to do that! If I could I promise I would use my ability for good and never evil- witches honor! Anyhow- she owns a sari shop with her mom. She comes back from NY to run it after her dad passes away. Anyhow.... because she knows how to steer people towards their happnss she is successful in business. Anyhow.... of course things cannot remain so neat and tidy.... in comes the lvoe interest on the sri hem of a famous Bollywood actress- he is the limo driver and he definately is not Indian. HOWEVER- Lakshmi is very interested and stragly- her powers cease to work in his presence. The big twist is her mom is arranging a GREAT big arranged marrage for her daughter with an Indian doctor.

It is funny.... serious.... heart warming and a quick yet enjoyable read.

[Jen B · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars I can't say I loved this one too much. The concept was interesting -- Lakshmi has a "gift" of being able to read peoples' emotions and feelings, which helps her to choose the perfect saris for them. However, the writing was just so-so, and the ending of the book felt so rushed and neatly-wrapped that instead of feeling satisfied I was left wondering, "that's it?" Living in an area of the country with a large Indian population, I'm intrigued by Indian culture, so I enjoyed reading about the culture and learning about saris. But overall this was just an "eh" read rather than a "wow" one.

[Carly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so sorry to give this book 2 stars, because I love love love Anjali Banerjee, and I think everyone should read her books.... just not this one. Imaginary Men was leaps and bounds better, and Maya Running was even better than that. This book isn't bad, not by any definition, and in fact parts of it are better and more interesting than Imaginary Men (I loved the sari shop and the sari talk, for instance), but largely it's just hugely predictable with a bland ending and a tepid cast of characters.

Sorry, Anjali. Better luck with your next book, I guess.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Invisible lives is a very sweet book. Unfortunately, there is not much else to it. Although the scenes are the sari shop are very interesting, I couldn't find myself enjoying the romantic plot lines, which were the bulk of the book. The writing had an attractive, dreamy quality to it but I just didn't find many of the characters to be that interesting. Invisible Lives is a very average book, but I wanted it to be more. Perhaps people that are a little more into chick lit-esque books (I tend to be picky) will enjoy this more.

[Cher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, easy read that was completely different than anything I've read before despite being hugely predictable. I enjoyed the relationship between Lakshmi and her mother and especially enjoyed reading about their sari shop. It was great to have insight into the minds of those around Lakshmi which made for a unique story concept. The Indian culture of Lakshmi’s mother and father is something that Lakshmi balances with the American culture in which she has been raised. As far as “love stories” go, this was not the books best feature. Still a good read.

[Shreeja Keyal Kanoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book was an ok read....
i kinda guessed some stuff which were to be revealed later...
i really have to give my mind a break when i read...
the saree shop....and the whole finding a perfect saree mystique gift...with visions...was charming.....
it went a level deeper to express feelings with visions and flashes...almost like seeing instinct....

....heard that her first book's better-gotta read it

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the introduction into the Indian (middle eastern India) lifestyle and ageless traditions was neat. The boy-meets-girl-then-they-fall-in-love happened too fast, so I didn't really feel like their relationship had any time to blossom or deepen. But overall, thought it to be a interesting easy read. Oh, forgot to mention that I didn't like the author's writing style, it was like she wrote the entire book in present tense or something - just different.

[Brimate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an effortless, quick, enjoyable, whimsical read, with some beutiful and witty flourishes. It reminds me of The Mistress of Spices. It's neat that the story takes place in the Northwest, so I can picture some of the sights and get the feel and atmosphere of the setting. The book has neat parallels with my life: main character is 27 and is from the Northwest.

Very nice story.

[Kate Copeseeley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise and the characters in this book. I would have rated it higher if it hadn't felt so rushed as I was reading it. The book moved too fast and reached a conclusion just as I was really getting into it. Very disappointing. It's rare that I say a book needs more pages, but this one truly did.

[Robbin Melton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really nice tale about a young intuitive Indian woman who uses her gift to choose saris that will brighten other women's day. More importantly, this story also explores arranged marriage verus love at first sight and love in general as told through the eyes of two generations. Very lovely story and an equally quick read. Love this author's work.

[Sashi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was like an insipid Mills and Boon romance, only its called cultural literature if the story deals with ethnic life. Nice, but if it were not an East Indian author, I wouldn't have read it. Seattle, saree shop, educated girl helping out her mom, falling in love with an American body guard, kinda boring and tedious.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

The third book for the NDC pageturners book club. I actually enjoyed it but only gave it two stars for its simplicity. It took me only a few hours to read and the plot was pretty basic. I kept looking for a clue that it was a young adult book but never found it. A good glimpse at the American-Indian culture clash but fell a little short in terms of complexity.