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The Mistress of Spices
Magical spices that could cure and release you from all your woes, worries, pains and innermost desires, and a mistress who does the magic- The Mistress of Spices is a story about an arthritic and old, but immortal woman born in some other time who travels through time and sells her magical spices to strangers. Written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, the book explores the different Indian spices and lives of immigrants in the United States. The book has been listed on the Los Angeles Best Books of 1997 and also adapted into a Hollywood motion picture with the same name.
Tilo opens a shop in Oakland, California, and sells exotic spices for Indian curries. Her spices not only taste good but also able help people fulfill their desires. She has a mysterious magical power that can only pass through her spices. Through the spices, she dispels her customers' problems and cures their troubles and ailments. The book brings out different characters that represent not only Indians but also different types of people in general. It includes an abused and tortured wife, a taxi driver who has come to the US to live his dreams, a group of talkative and outrageous girls who cannot stand the views of their traditional and narrow-minded parents, and a victim of racism in school.
All these characters come to Tilo, and she gives them her magical, miraculous spices banishing all their agonies. She has got solutions for every other problem. You name it and she is ready with the composition of spices, whether it is turmeric to erase wrinkles or cinnamon to make friends, fenugreek for making a wife desirable to her husband or chillies to get rid of evil. She is famous and her magic works wonders. But one day, a handsome American man visits her shop and stirs her forbidden desires for which she does not have a cure in her spices. The growing unsettled desires are slowly destroying her magical abilities. Will she be able to find a cure for it or will she give in to her feelings?
317 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 1997
690 people are currently reading
14041 people want to read
About the author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
62 books6,971 followersChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.Her novels One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart and Palace of Illusions are currently in the process of being made into movies. http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books.... Her newest novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman.") Simon & Schuster.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,216 reviews
October 1, 2007
This book belongs on a Harlequin/ Mills & Boon bookshelf. I picked it up expecting something quite different from the lukewarm and soggy story telling it contained. Perhaps the author was aiming for magic realism but ended up with a mishmash of genres and not one that was well-developed.
The story revolves around a woman who had a weird past that has no real connection to her present. She "inhabits" an old body for no good reason other than she might actually be that old (the book meanders about the "years and years" spent here and there). She is supposed to adhere to some rules in order to keep her powers (which are knowing the spice remedies for curing emotional maladies) but when she breaks them, her powers are not taken away, in fact, she might even be promoted for her intransigence. It makes no sense, not even symbolically. In addition, the reader loses all interest after the umpteenth convolution surrounding an old hag in a hole-in-the-wall grocery store.
She falls for some dark-haired American and the only reason the author seems to provide is that his clothes look expensive. Despite being good-looking himself, he loves (for no apparent reason and not in a platonic way) this old hag in rags. And then he kisses her and has sex. And then she turns curt with him in the typical self-sacrificial mode common to romance novels. But it all ends happily-ever-after though not for me as I was brain-dead at that point. The language is completely inane and the patois affected by the author leaves one cold.
The story revolves around a woman who had a weird past that has no real connection to her present. She "inhabits" an old body for no good reason other than she might actually be that old (the book meanders about the "years and years" spent here and there). She is supposed to adhere to some rules in order to keep her powers (which are knowing the spice remedies for curing emotional maladies) but when she breaks them, her powers are not taken away, in fact, she might even be promoted for her intransigence. It makes no sense, not even symbolically. In addition, the reader loses all interest after the umpteenth convolution surrounding an old hag in a hole-in-the-wall grocery store.
She falls for some dark-haired American and the only reason the author seems to provide is that his clothes look expensive. Despite being good-looking himself, he loves (for no apparent reason and not in a platonic way) this old hag in rags. And then he kisses her and has sex. And then she turns curt with him in the typical self-sacrificial mode common to romance novels. But it all ends happily-ever-after though not for me as I was brain-dead at that point. The language is completely inane and the patois affected by the author leaves one cold.
February 10, 2009
I probably wouldn’t have read this if I hadn’t been introduced to Ms. Divakaruni by a former student who was taking a class from her and loved her. I always feel as though I should read people’s books if I’ve met them, which has gotten me stuck with some duds. Fortunately this wasn’t one of them. With a writing style that’s both conversational and lyrical, Divakaruni engulfs you in a heady blend of mysticism, romance, and realism as complex and sensual as the spices she writes about. The story takes place in a little shop in Oakland, of all places, where an old woman named Tilo sells spices. Ostensibly she suggests spices to flavor dishes, but secretly they treat the spiritual ailments of her customers. Because...(mystical background music)...Tilo isn’t really an old woman — she’s an immortal "Mistress of Spices" in disguise, endowed with special powers to see into people’s souls and heal them through the spices that both aid and rule her. The story of her magical apprenticeship (you're not just born a Mistress of Spices) is beautifully balanced with stories of her customers and their struggles with family, love, work, or navigating a new country. The storyline was unusual, but almost as unexpected for me was to see Oakland as a city with interesting neighborhood characters, not just as an ugly crime capital that I drive through only if I absolutely have to, or if I miss the 680 turnoff and get stuck on 880. Anyway, I thought this book was as delightful as it was intriguing.
January 2, 2015
Good idea poorly executed.
The poetic language lauded in other reviews is over the top and gets obnoxious quickly. The author has an odd form of Tourrete's that makes her spit out similies - "eyes dark as a tropical night" - that aren't necessarily half bad , but there are so many of them they begin to grate.
The author follows. The unimaginative trend. Of chopping up sentences. Into fragments. In the name of art. Which wasn't cool even the first time it was done. By someone else.
The title character is put in an old woman's body for no real reason other than it seems the author thought an old crone tending a mystical spice shop seemed appropriate. And that makes the romance difficult to swallow. The spices have arbitrary rules for their mistress that seem designed merely to add conflict to the story.
The stories of the characters she helps are cliches in Indian-American writing, and each has a neatly packaged, simple resolution when the problem is more complex.
The poetic language lauded in other reviews is over the top and gets obnoxious quickly. The author has an odd form of Tourrete's that makes her spit out similies - "eyes dark as a tropical night" - that aren't necessarily half bad , but there are so many of them they begin to grate.
The author follows. The unimaginative trend. Of chopping up sentences. Into fragments. In the name of art. Which wasn't cool even the first time it was done. By someone else.
The title character is put in an old woman's body for no real reason other than it seems the author thought an old crone tending a mystical spice shop seemed appropriate. And that makes the romance difficult to swallow. The spices have arbitrary rules for their mistress that seem designed merely to add conflict to the story.
The stories of the characters she helps are cliches in Indian-American writing, and each has a neatly packaged, simple resolution when the problem is more complex.
February 2, 2025
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"When I hold it in my hands, the spice speaks to me. Its voice is like evening, like the beginning of the world."
There's a lot to love about this book.
For one thing, it centers on a woman named Tilo who hails from a faraway place in a different time but now lives in Oakland, California where she works at a spice bazaar. Tilo is trained in the ancient art of spices and administers spices as curatives for her customers. She takes a much greater interest in her customers than she ought to, which stirs conflict with her mentor, "the old one" who watches over her from afar.
The closeness that Tilo defiantly cultivates with her customers is endearing, but what I loved even more than that is her relationship with spices, which each have their own history and personality in this book. (Had the story been narrated by the spices instead of Tilo, I may have loved it more.)
Tilo is immortal and exists in the body of an elderly, arthritic woman, but her longing for youth is stirred when the handsome young Raven enters her shop. Tilo's romantic pursuit of Raven leads her to the most difficult decision of her supernatural life.
The Mistress of Spices is contemporary literature with a dash of magical realism, a pinch of Indian mysticism, and a touch of fairy tale romance. I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, as the story maintains a steady pace throughout and I'd have liked it to build to something greater by it's end, but it's nonetheless a beautifully written ode to humanity, community, and love.
"When I hold it in my hands, the spice speaks to me. Its voice is like evening, like the beginning of the world."
There's a lot to love about this book.
For one thing, it centers on a woman named Tilo who hails from a faraway place in a different time but now lives in Oakland, California where she works at a spice bazaar. Tilo is trained in the ancient art of spices and administers spices as curatives for her customers. She takes a much greater interest in her customers than she ought to, which stirs conflict with her mentor, "the old one" who watches over her from afar.
The closeness that Tilo defiantly cultivates with her customers is endearing, but what I loved even more than that is her relationship with spices, which each have their own history and personality in this book. (Had the story been narrated by the spices instead of Tilo, I may have loved it more.)
Tilo is immortal and exists in the body of an elderly, arthritic woman, but her longing for youth is stirred when the handsome young Raven enters her shop. Tilo's romantic pursuit of Raven leads her to the most difficult decision of her supernatural life.
The Mistress of Spices is contemporary literature with a dash of magical realism, a pinch of Indian mysticism, and a touch of fairy tale romance. I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, as the story maintains a steady pace throughout and I'd have liked it to build to something greater by it's end, but it's nonetheless a beautifully written ode to humanity, community, and love.
December 12, 2010
Oh dear, whatever one says is going to sound like damnation via faint praise. Yes, this is magical realism; no, it isn't as accomplished as the best examples in that genre. Yes, it is an occasionally beguiling love story; no, it isn't without its languors and flat spots. Yes, the end in particular keeps one turning pages to see what happens; no, it isn't quite as moving and powerful as this reader hoped it would be. Entertaining, enjoyable, not life-changing. I felt the strongest passages weren't the magical realist touches but Tilo's everyday interactions with the largely Indian-American clientele she serves. I felt the least believable, least convincing material was that having to do with Raven's back story. In a way, I almost longed for a straight up realist novel (something more along the lines of Sister of My Heart) that focused on this woman and her community.
October 28, 2014
Misty... fragrant... intoxicating.. mythical... spicy!!
I have read almost all books of Chitra Banerjee and each read makes me crave for more.. her intriguing characters, colorful stories and much are like bites from your faviorite dish which you eat one at a time so that the taste lasts forever.. holding me close to the book and I wish it never ends.. The best part about her books are the interesting character sketches.. generally a character has shades of black or white or a mixed grey.. but Chira's characters have all vibrant shades of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, mustard, plum, brown and all colors seen or unseen but felt..
To read more, visit my blog:
http://storywala.blogspot.in/2013/04/...
I have read almost all books of Chitra Banerjee and each read makes me crave for more.. her intriguing characters, colorful stories and much are like bites from your faviorite dish which you eat one at a time so that the taste lasts forever.. holding me close to the book and I wish it never ends.. The best part about her books are the interesting character sketches.. generally a character has shades of black or white or a mixed grey.. but Chira's characters have all vibrant shades of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, mustard, plum, brown and all colors seen or unseen but felt..
To read more, visit my blog:
http://storywala.blogspot.in/2013/04/...
November 29, 2015
There is this very important thing about performing magic. Unless you have a deep grasp of your magic and pronounce the runes properly, the magic will not work. What is worse, it might backfire and the invoked spirit might even end up killing you. This very thing seems to have happened to Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in writing this book. Her writing magic, if I could call it so, has backfired and, Goodness, it has done so very badly.
The first book of this author that I had read was ‘The Palace of Illusions’, a book on the famed Mahabharata character of Panchali, closely resembling the renowned work of Irawati Karve, ‘Yuganta’. She had done a pretty decent job there, having already got the blueprint for Panchali’s emotions laid out before her by Vyasa. But this work is something that she can claim to be entirely her own. So, I was expecting to see her real potential excel in here. And, I have been disappointed badly.
First, the plot. The very idea oozes with magic. The spices - yes, the ones that you see in your kitchen every day and which you use for adding taste and health to your food – are all having magical powers. Medical characters we have all known of, but magical? I felt a lot of promise there. Now, the spices have the power to heal and help the people attain their wishes. Tilo is a young girl with the gift of psychic powers. After an ordeal she ends up on an island guarded by an old woman known as the Old One. She takes Tilo into her wings and teaches her, and many other young girls like Tilo who are already there, the power of the spices, the chants and ways to control them, along with the rules to do so. Each girl, once she learns the tricks of the trade, is despatched in an old woman’s body, to various corners of the globe to help the people there with the power of spices. They are bound to some rules – to not touch the people, to not leave the place where they are first put, and to not get personally involved into the lives of those whom they help. If they fail any of these rules, they will be destroyed by fire and recalled (!) to the island.
Our protagonist, Tilo, ends up running a spice shop in Oakland area of USA. There she, the ‘ever-rebellious’ and headstrong person that she is, manages to break all the rules one by one. How long was she there at that spice shop of hers? No clear mention. Why break all the rules now suddenly and at a short notice? Nobody knows. Then she falls in love. With an American. Why? It is because that is what the plot demands. Fine. She risks her powers and even her life to help the people to get what they want. Now, don’t start to think anything superbly spiritual or different. A poor Indian housewife, brought to US by an NRI husband to whom she got married without much of choice or desire, and who is battered and abused by him now. A girl born to NRI couple, brought up with usual traces and talks of freedom, ending up wanting to marry another immigrant from South America, thus hurting her parents. A helpless, pre-teen Sikh boy, who is abused and tormented by his classmates for being different. A Kashmiri young man, who reached US with the hopes of making good in life, now working as a taxi-driver. How Tilo helps these people is on one side. The love of Tilo for her American is on the other side. She starts breaking one rule after another to help these people and in the meanwhile to satisfy her own desires as well. Did the spices punish her for her transgression is what this book is all about.
Now, to what I felt wrong about this book. First, words. The author seems to believe that the only way to convey an emotion is to put it in as many words as possible. As a result, you start feeling bored very soon. So many words to convey even the simplest of things. Brevity is not her forte.
Next, the characters and their emotions don’t somehow seem to tug at your heart as any intense tale is supposed to. Everything seems so artificial, run-of-the-mill and boringly regular. You could have seen such tales in your TV soap operas.
Then, her love for ‘her American’. Why did she fall in love with him? Not a single reason worthy of making us feel happy for them. Her depictions of the hero, her portrayal of his behavior and even his every little acts makes you suspect that it is not love, but ordinary infatuation a young girl caught in an old woman’s body feels for an ‘American’ man oozing with machismo. This guy can do no wrong, he smells great, his dresses are great, he has won a lot in life and, of course, inevitably, he has a bitter past. He falls in love with our girl-in-old-woman’s-body, because somebody told him that ‘she is not what she appears to be’. He even kisses her passionately once, you see!
Finally, a spoiler. If you are eager to know whether the spices punish her, sorry, they don’t. They ravage most of the Oakland area through earthquake and fire, kill innocent people and destroy their property, but let go of our protagonist with just a little injury to her forehead, because you know what? She accepted her punishment in her heart. Dafuq is the word that came to my mind here.
A lot of sentimental stupidity, run-of-the-mill characterization, stereotyped depiction of US-based Indians, a senseless ending all mar such an innovative story-line. Good enough only for starry-eyed teenagers that devour adult novels in a hurry, or housewives that eat TV-serials for breakfast-lunch-and-supper, or for those movie-makers who are looking for such NRI tales with raunchy love-making scenes to create a film out of.
A dumb ‘sop’ opera, for those with a lot of time to waste and immense patience to go with it.
The first book of this author that I had read was ‘The Palace of Illusions’, a book on the famed Mahabharata character of Panchali, closely resembling the renowned work of Irawati Karve, ‘Yuganta’. She had done a pretty decent job there, having already got the blueprint for Panchali’s emotions laid out before her by Vyasa. But this work is something that she can claim to be entirely her own. So, I was expecting to see her real potential excel in here. And, I have been disappointed badly.
First, the plot. The very idea oozes with magic. The spices - yes, the ones that you see in your kitchen every day and which you use for adding taste and health to your food – are all having magical powers. Medical characters we have all known of, but magical? I felt a lot of promise there. Now, the spices have the power to heal and help the people attain their wishes. Tilo is a young girl with the gift of psychic powers. After an ordeal she ends up on an island guarded by an old woman known as the Old One. She takes Tilo into her wings and teaches her, and many other young girls like Tilo who are already there, the power of the spices, the chants and ways to control them, along with the rules to do so. Each girl, once she learns the tricks of the trade, is despatched in an old woman’s body, to various corners of the globe to help the people there with the power of spices. They are bound to some rules – to not touch the people, to not leave the place where they are first put, and to not get personally involved into the lives of those whom they help. If they fail any of these rules, they will be destroyed by fire and recalled (!) to the island.
Our protagonist, Tilo, ends up running a spice shop in Oakland area of USA. There she, the ‘ever-rebellious’ and headstrong person that she is, manages to break all the rules one by one. How long was she there at that spice shop of hers? No clear mention. Why break all the rules now suddenly and at a short notice? Nobody knows. Then she falls in love. With an American. Why? It is because that is what the plot demands. Fine. She risks her powers and even her life to help the people to get what they want. Now, don’t start to think anything superbly spiritual or different. A poor Indian housewife, brought to US by an NRI husband to whom she got married without much of choice or desire, and who is battered and abused by him now. A girl born to NRI couple, brought up with usual traces and talks of freedom, ending up wanting to marry another immigrant from South America, thus hurting her parents. A helpless, pre-teen Sikh boy, who is abused and tormented by his classmates for being different. A Kashmiri young man, who reached US with the hopes of making good in life, now working as a taxi-driver. How Tilo helps these people is on one side. The love of Tilo for her American is on the other side. She starts breaking one rule after another to help these people and in the meanwhile to satisfy her own desires as well. Did the spices punish her for her transgression is what this book is all about.
Now, to what I felt wrong about this book. First, words. The author seems to believe that the only way to convey an emotion is to put it in as many words as possible. As a result, you start feeling bored very soon. So many words to convey even the simplest of things. Brevity is not her forte.
Next, the characters and their emotions don’t somehow seem to tug at your heart as any intense tale is supposed to. Everything seems so artificial, run-of-the-mill and boringly regular. You could have seen such tales in your TV soap operas.
Then, her love for ‘her American’. Why did she fall in love with him? Not a single reason worthy of making us feel happy for them. Her depictions of the hero, her portrayal of his behavior and even his every little acts makes you suspect that it is not love, but ordinary infatuation a young girl caught in an old woman’s body feels for an ‘American’ man oozing with machismo. This guy can do no wrong, he smells great, his dresses are great, he has won a lot in life and, of course, inevitably, he has a bitter past. He falls in love with our girl-in-old-woman’s-body, because somebody told him that ‘she is not what she appears to be’. He even kisses her passionately once, you see!
Finally, a spoiler. If you are eager to know whether the spices punish her, sorry, they don’t. They ravage most of the Oakland area through earthquake and fire, kill innocent people and destroy their property, but let go of our protagonist with just a little injury to her forehead, because you know what? She accepted her punishment in her heart. Dafuq is the word that came to my mind here.
A lot of sentimental stupidity, run-of-the-mill characterization, stereotyped depiction of US-based Indians, a senseless ending all mar such an innovative story-line. Good enough only for starry-eyed teenagers that devour adult novels in a hurry, or housewives that eat TV-serials for breakfast-lunch-and-supper, or for those movie-makers who are looking for such NRI tales with raunchy love-making scenes to create a film out of.
A dumb ‘sop’ opera, for those with a lot of time to waste and immense patience to go with it.
October 12, 2021
The eponymous ‘Mistress of Spices’ is Tilottama, an old woman—old on the outside only—who has been magically transported to America from an island, where she and other young women were trained in the magic of spices by an Old Mistress. Here in America, ‘Tilo’ dispenses spices, other Indian ingredients and handicrafts, advice and magic to smoothen out the lives of the people who visit the store she runs. People, nearly all of them Indian, for some of whom the immigrant dream has soured, and others who face varying problems… and there’s the American, Raven, whom Tilo lusts after.
Yes, ‘lusts after’ is what this struck me as, though the author tries to make it appear as true love. On both sides, Tilo as well as Raven, the relationship struck me as pretty superficial most of the way. The attempt at magic realism falls a bit flat, mostly because it seems the author doesn’t have the courage to truly let go of her hold on reality—there is human agency, there is a natural explanation—to account for most of what happens here, unlike (say) in Like Water for Chocolate.
And, all said and done, the entire scenario seemed tailored to cater to the (perceived?) Western need for ‘exotic India’ to shine through in any book about India and/or Indians. The contrived mystery and power surrounding the spices becomes a bit too much to swallow, and the very fact that the people Tilo helps have typically ‘Indian immigrant’ problems: the racism, the generation gap, the young woman married off to an older man: why are there no immigrants here who have the problems everyday Americans face?
Lastly, the biggest turn-off for me: the language. It’s riddled with metaphors and similes to the point where it becomes tedious, and Tilo’s narration, her repetitive and flat O Spices, followed by questions that are worded as statements… after a while, it became so irritating, I couldn’t wait to end this book and be done with it.
Yes, ‘lusts after’ is what this struck me as, though the author tries to make it appear as true love. On both sides, Tilo as well as Raven, the relationship struck me as pretty superficial most of the way. The attempt at magic realism falls a bit flat, mostly because it seems the author doesn’t have the courage to truly let go of her hold on reality—there is human agency, there is a natural explanation—to account for most of what happens here, unlike (say) in Like Water for Chocolate.
And, all said and done, the entire scenario seemed tailored to cater to the (perceived?) Western need for ‘exotic India’ to shine through in any book about India and/or Indians. The contrived mystery and power surrounding the spices becomes a bit too much to swallow, and the very fact that the people Tilo helps have typically ‘Indian immigrant’ problems: the racism, the generation gap, the young woman married off to an older man: why are there no immigrants here who have the problems everyday Americans face?
Lastly, the biggest turn-off for me: the language. It’s riddled with metaphors and similes to the point where it becomes tedious, and Tilo’s narration, her repetitive and flat O Spices, followed by questions that are worded as statements… after a while, it became so irritating, I couldn’t wait to end this book and be done with it.
July 18, 2012
I absolutely adored this book. I've read it about ten times since I first got my hand on it, and it's been a companion all through puberty and the rocky university years. What's funny, then, is that it took me so long to realise what this book is really about, and what it was that drew me to it. First up - the writing is like jewels on a page. She evokes such beautiful imagery and a wonderful magical universe just with her words; one cannot help but be swept away in its beauty.
Secondly, it's sort of an allegory for a woman who is trying to marry two cultures together. Or perhaps this another layer that I saw, when I was going through some similarly tough circumstances.I guess it doesn't really matter - I identified with the central conflict of this book's main character; I felt her pain, and frustration and anger from the moment I picked up the book, and I believe this is Divakaruni's real gift: the ability to create magic with words.
I have noticed that a few of her other books tend to get weighed down with the language. For example, Sister of my Heart; Vine of Desire and Arranged Marriage - all of these books are incredibly sad and downright draining to read. The language is just as beautiful and evocative, but perhaps overdone. In Mistress of Spices she really seems to hit her stride, and the balance is spot on.
Sorry this review is a bit all over the place, but TL;DR: I loved it and would recomment it to most people!
Secondly, it's sort of an allegory for a woman who is trying to marry two cultures together. Or perhaps this another layer that I saw, when I was going through some similarly tough circumstances.I guess it doesn't really matter - I identified with the central conflict of this book's main character; I felt her pain, and frustration and anger from the moment I picked up the book, and I believe this is Divakaruni's real gift: the ability to create magic with words.
I have noticed that a few of her other books tend to get weighed down with the language. For example, Sister of my Heart; Vine of Desire and Arranged Marriage - all of these books are incredibly sad and downright draining to read. The language is just as beautiful and evocative, but perhaps overdone. In Mistress of Spices she really seems to hit her stride, and the balance is spot on.
Sorry this review is a bit all over the place, but TL;DR: I loved it and would recomment it to most people!
Read
April 2, 2020L'ho abbandonato a pagina 50 perché la vita è troppo breve per i libri brutti, sorry not sorry.
Magari lo riprenderò quando sarà l'ultimo libro che mi è rimasto.. O se qualcuno - tipo deus ex macchina - arriva, mi molla uno schiaffone alla Batman con Robin e mi dice che non capisco nulla, che è un capolavoro imperdibile e DEVO ASSOLUTAMENTE leggerlo, mannaggia a me.
Anzi, forse solo se viene Batman in persona:
Magari lo riprenderò quando sarà l'ultimo libro che mi è rimasto.. O se qualcuno - tipo deus ex macchina - arriva, mi molla uno schiaffone alla Batman con Robin e mi dice che non capisco nulla, che è un capolavoro imperdibile e DEVO ASSOLUTAMENTE leggerlo, mannaggia a me.
Anzi, forse solo se viene Batman in persona:
July 11, 2013
I picked the book up on a secondhand book sale and was intrigued by the spices which, in retrospect, should have been the protagonists in the tale! But I always enjoyed the magic flavors of the huge Asian spice markets in South Africa, where it is exhibited in heaps and weighed on ancient scales. The memories of going to the Indian markets on a Saturday morning buying flowers, fruit, vegetables and magical spices, combined with an everlasting curiosity about other cultures and stories, got me bowing to the will of The Mistress of Spices. The book yelled at me to buy it, so to speak, and I gracefully surrendered :-)
You've got to believe a little bit in magic and fairy tales for this book. But there is enough realism embedded in the story to keep you captured. Add a cup of mysticism and a few pinches of romance, and you've got the Spice shop in Oakland California. From the outside it is just another shop from an old Indian immigrant lady selling them. However, it is soon clear that these spices are not only the exotic, culinary delights of the Indian cuisine that we love.
The lady of the shop's story begins in India a few centuries before where she is born as Nayan Tara, not the prettiest of the children, a gifted child who dominates the household since her magic powers enriches the family in their small village near the river.
She has difficult relationships with her family and wishes to remove herself from the situation. She is kidnapped by pirates who soon submit themselves to her control, calling her their Queen. She lands up on an island where she becomes an apprentice Mistress of Spices. Her name changes to Tila. She get to know the secret powers of spices and that she will only be able to use those powers if she submits to the will of the spices.
It is with this name that she transcends into the modern world and opens the grocery shop in Oakland.
There were strict rules in keeping her magic powers. She knows that... "A good hand is not too light, nor too heavy. Light hands are the wind's creatures, flung this way and that at its whim. Heavy hands, pulled downward by their own weight, have no spirit. They are only slabs of meat for the maggots waiting underground."
She was to not only serve and assist the immigrants from India, but she was never to leave the shop or get involved in her customer's lives. It worked quite well for her and her regular customers, such as the Geetha family, Lalitha, Haroun, Jagjit, Mrs.Ahuja. But she has a rebellious nature and soon does the same for all her non-Indian customers as well. She listens to their life stories and mixes spices for them which enhances or change their lives completely. She is dignified, respectful, aloof and subtely demands it in return. She also tried to control her impatient nature in some incidences.
Then an attractive man, Raven, half white, half Native American - "The American" - as she calls him, enters the shop. His grandfather bestowed on him some mystical powers which his mother denied him. He soon spills his guts to her about his childhood and his mother, which is vastly different from the life she knew, a totally different culture, yet a similar kind of gifted background. Due to his background he was able to recognize the beautiful young woman in the old lady's body.
Her sense of adventure as well as her rebellious nature kick in. She cannot resist his charm which he relentlessly bestow on her and the magic of a very different kind begins......
"I tell myself, I deserve dignity, I deserve happiness."
She does not lose her magic abilities, only the power over the outcomes. The potions turn nasty, one mixture of chillies causes and earthquake when she tries to destroy it in the river.
Having the gift of magic does not mean that she is happy and when she tries to control her own destiny or make her own choices the repercussions are heavy. "My fault, my fault. A refrain so many women the world over have been taught to sing."
The potion which she mixes for herself to become a beautiful young woman for a day, works for her and Raven. However, she has to choose between a happy, yet short life with him, or remain the Spice mistress forever...
It is a light read, a interesting blend of realism, magic, and a modern fairy tale. It is not a perfect tale. Thankfully it does not have the surreal, earth-shattering end where the hero runs along a national highway, jumping over cars, causing accidents, yelling as he speeds along "Tilla I love you, don't go!" - which have the entire American nation happily deserting their cars on the highway, causing monumental traffic jams and serious accidents; having pedestrians, joggers and old bag ladies leave their beloved possessions and running along to finally become a stadium full of happy clappie love-sick optimists roaring their encouragement when he stops the plane from leaving and the happy girl joyously jumps his bones, causing him to fall down and happily break a few ribs and a hip while the crowd cheers and blissfully burst out in tears. No, it is not that kind of story at all!
It also won't dramatically change your life either, but will leave you with a feeling of growing old is inevitable, but growing up is optional. Sometimes we just have to release that innocent young girl in ourselves who never actually deserted us and have her day in our minds.
The "Mistress of Spices" is a delightful blend of historical Indian mysticism, modern realism, cross-cultural interpretation of life and experiences, immigration issues and magic. If you are open for spice adventures, told in a dignified, slow motion, the little girl in you will enjoy this book on a sunny lazy day out in the fresh open air ;-)
I can promise you one thing, though. You will fall in love with spices all over again!
You've got to believe a little bit in magic and fairy tales for this book. But there is enough realism embedded in the story to keep you captured. Add a cup of mysticism and a few pinches of romance, and you've got the Spice shop in Oakland California. From the outside it is just another shop from an old Indian immigrant lady selling them. However, it is soon clear that these spices are not only the exotic, culinary delights of the Indian cuisine that we love.
The lady of the shop's story begins in India a few centuries before where she is born as Nayan Tara, not the prettiest of the children, a gifted child who dominates the household since her magic powers enriches the family in their small village near the river.
She has difficult relationships with her family and wishes to remove herself from the situation. She is kidnapped by pirates who soon submit themselves to her control, calling her their Queen. She lands up on an island where she becomes an apprentice Mistress of Spices. Her name changes to Tila. She get to know the secret powers of spices and that she will only be able to use those powers if she submits to the will of the spices.
It is with this name that she transcends into the modern world and opens the grocery shop in Oakland.
There were strict rules in keeping her magic powers. She knows that... "A good hand is not too light, nor too heavy. Light hands are the wind's creatures, flung this way and that at its whim. Heavy hands, pulled downward by their own weight, have no spirit. They are only slabs of meat for the maggots waiting underground."
She was to not only serve and assist the immigrants from India, but she was never to leave the shop or get involved in her customer's lives. It worked quite well for her and her regular customers, such as the Geetha family, Lalitha, Haroun, Jagjit, Mrs.Ahuja. But she has a rebellious nature and soon does the same for all her non-Indian customers as well. She listens to their life stories and mixes spices for them which enhances or change their lives completely. She is dignified, respectful, aloof and subtely demands it in return. She also tried to control her impatient nature in some incidences.
Then an attractive man, Raven, half white, half Native American - "The American" - as she calls him, enters the shop. His grandfather bestowed on him some mystical powers which his mother denied him. He soon spills his guts to her about his childhood and his mother, which is vastly different from the life she knew, a totally different culture, yet a similar kind of gifted background. Due to his background he was able to recognize the beautiful young woman in the old lady's body.
Her sense of adventure as well as her rebellious nature kick in. She cannot resist his charm which he relentlessly bestow on her and the magic of a very different kind begins......
"I tell myself, I deserve dignity, I deserve happiness."
She does not lose her magic abilities, only the power over the outcomes. The potions turn nasty, one mixture of chillies causes and earthquake when she tries to destroy it in the river.
Having the gift of magic does not mean that she is happy and when she tries to control her own destiny or make her own choices the repercussions are heavy. "My fault, my fault. A refrain so many women the world over have been taught to sing."
The potion which she mixes for herself to become a beautiful young woman for a day, works for her and Raven. However, she has to choose between a happy, yet short life with him, or remain the Spice mistress forever...
It is a light read, a interesting blend of realism, magic, and a modern fairy tale. It is not a perfect tale. Thankfully it does not have the surreal, earth-shattering end where the hero runs along a national highway, jumping over cars, causing accidents, yelling as he speeds along "Tilla I love you, don't go!" - which have the entire American nation happily deserting their cars on the highway, causing monumental traffic jams and serious accidents; having pedestrians, joggers and old bag ladies leave their beloved possessions and running along to finally become a stadium full of happy clappie love-sick optimists roaring their encouragement when he stops the plane from leaving and the happy girl joyously jumps his bones, causing him to fall down and happily break a few ribs and a hip while the crowd cheers and blissfully burst out in tears. No, it is not that kind of story at all!
It also won't dramatically change your life either, but will leave you with a feeling of growing old is inevitable, but growing up is optional. Sometimes we just have to release that innocent young girl in ourselves who never actually deserted us and have her day in our minds.
The "Mistress of Spices" is a delightful blend of historical Indian mysticism, modern realism, cross-cultural interpretation of life and experiences, immigration issues and magic. If you are open for spice adventures, told in a dignified, slow motion, the little girl in you will enjoy this book on a sunny lazy day out in the fresh open air ;-)
I can promise you one thing, though. You will fall in love with spices all over again!
Read
May 23, 2021DNF @ page 60
Breaks my heart but oh my gosh no :/
That's all I'll say here but I'm doing a dedicated video on my channel where I will talk about what went wrong with it.
Here's the link to my channel if you'd like to stay tuned: youtube.com/c/TheMelodramaticBookworm
Breaks my heart but oh my gosh no :/
That's all I'll say here but I'm doing a dedicated video on my channel where I will talk about what went wrong with it.
Here's the link to my channel if you'd like to stay tuned: youtube.com/c/TheMelodramaticBookworm
March 14, 2017
Abandonado tras intentarlo varias veces, pero la protagonista no me acaba de enganchar. No me gusta dejar los libros a mitad, porque a veces te sorprende con el final, sin embargo con éste prefiero no despediciar mi tiempo.
August 21, 2009
I nominated this for my f2f book group because I was curious. The author lives in Houston and is a friend of a friend. I was expecting a relatively simple, domestic novel, but was pleasantly surprised to find a dazzlingly original example of magical realism.
The main character doesn’t even have a stable name. It changes as her life changes: first she’s Nayan Tara, the disappointing girl child who’s ugly—the color of mud—but who has psychic gifts that make the family’s fortune in a small village on a river in India. She grows up impatient and sullen from all the attention and wills pirates to comes and take her away. That happens and she becomes the Queen of the pirates for a while until she travels to the island to meet the First Mother to whom she apprentices herself as a Mistress of Spices, taking the name Tila. As the novel ends she takes yet another name.
The novel opens with Tila, an old, dark-skinned and wrinkled woman, the mistress of spices, who runs a small Indian grocery in Oakland, CA. She listens to the stories of the Indian immigrants who are her customers and “prescribes” the appropriate spices to ameliorate their problems. But she's a rebel and impatient. She can’t be satisfied following the rules—staying inside the store always, listening and dispensing advice and spices but not interfering. There’s the taxi driver who gets involved with shady characters, the bride whose husband beats her, the young boy who finds gang members to protect him from bullies in school in exchange for keeping and delivering mysterious packages, there’s the grandfather whose family rejects the daughter who is in love with a Mexican fellow student. Tila disobeys the spices, exceeds her mission by going out and getting involved in people’s lives. About the same time a handsome American turns up in her shop, eventually tells his story and a strange love affair develops. Using the most powerful of the spices, Tila turns herself into a beauty for one day with the Raven, as the American calls himself.
Unbelievably the story is concluded satisfactorily on both the mythical and the realistic levels. The style is original and inviting—the first third of the novel so sucked me in that I literally couldn’t stop reading.
The main character doesn’t even have a stable name. It changes as her life changes: first she’s Nayan Tara, the disappointing girl child who’s ugly—the color of mud—but who has psychic gifts that make the family’s fortune in a small village on a river in India. She grows up impatient and sullen from all the attention and wills pirates to comes and take her away. That happens and she becomes the Queen of the pirates for a while until she travels to the island to meet the First Mother to whom she apprentices herself as a Mistress of Spices, taking the name Tila. As the novel ends she takes yet another name.
The novel opens with Tila, an old, dark-skinned and wrinkled woman, the mistress of spices, who runs a small Indian grocery in Oakland, CA. She listens to the stories of the Indian immigrants who are her customers and “prescribes” the appropriate spices to ameliorate their problems. But she's a rebel and impatient. She can’t be satisfied following the rules—staying inside the store always, listening and dispensing advice and spices but not interfering. There’s the taxi driver who gets involved with shady characters, the bride whose husband beats her, the young boy who finds gang members to protect him from bullies in school in exchange for keeping and delivering mysterious packages, there’s the grandfather whose family rejects the daughter who is in love with a Mexican fellow student. Tila disobeys the spices, exceeds her mission by going out and getting involved in people’s lives. About the same time a handsome American turns up in her shop, eventually tells his story and a strange love affair develops. Using the most powerful of the spices, Tila turns herself into a beauty for one day with the Raven, as the American calls himself.
Unbelievably the story is concluded satisfactorily on both the mythical and the realistic levels. The style is original and inviting—the first third of the novel so sucked me in that I literally couldn’t stop reading.
February 10, 2019
I picked up this book after a recommendation at a feminist book club, and also because i had the loved the author's work The Palace of Illusions.
But I very disappointed by this book. It's horrible! It has no message. The plot sucks. The language is verbose. It felt more like an American's guide to Indian spices. It annoys me when Indians try to present India as something exotic. In this day and age! Firstly, spices aren't magical. Can we please stick to science instead of superstitions!
But more importantly, all throughout the book, it felt as if the author ended up trying to write a certain kind of story in a certain way and failed at both. Neither could she write an entertaining plot, nor weave a beautiful imagery, nor create a good magical realism. There were too many loose ends, random characters pointlessly dropping in, and the ending seemed forcefully wrapped up and weak.
It's the sort of book which should stay as manuscripts. It's sad that the writer actually managed to get off with printing and selling it.
But I very disappointed by this book. It's horrible! It has no message. The plot sucks. The language is verbose. It felt more like an American's guide to Indian spices. It annoys me when Indians try to present India as something exotic. In this day and age! Firstly, spices aren't magical. Can we please stick to science instead of superstitions!
But more importantly, all throughout the book, it felt as if the author ended up trying to write a certain kind of story in a certain way and failed at both. Neither could she write an entertaining plot, nor weave a beautiful imagery, nor create a good magical realism. There were too many loose ends, random characters pointlessly dropping in, and the ending seemed forcefully wrapped up and weak.
It's the sort of book which should stay as manuscripts. It's sad that the writer actually managed to get off with printing and selling it.
October 9, 2008
I was expecting more of this book. I picked it up randomly at the library because I am intrigued by Indian cooking and their creative use of spices. I liked the soft, poetic language of the first pages, but it was a weak book. The skeleton that the magical language hung on was weak and porous. It seemed immediately to be derivitive - an inferior version of "Like Water for Chocolate". If you like magical realism, read that one instead.
March 27, 2018
Magical realism, spices and a rebellious heroine... It had all the right ingredients but the first half gave me a feeling of something amiss. The second half was racy but the ending was too contrived...
December 10, 2025
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a lyrical, magical‑realist novel about Tilo, a mystical immigrant woman who tends a spice shop in Oakland that doubles as a sanctuary for her fellow Indian immigrants, using enchanted spices to heal emotional, cultural, and personal wounds until love forces her to choose between duty and desire.
Early on I found myself drawn to the atmosphere of the novel: the scent and texture of spices described so vividly that I could almost taste them, the careful weaving of immigrant lives seeking belonging in a foreign land, and the magical realism that felt mournful and hopeful all at once. Tilo is compelling and haunted: once a young woman named Nayan Tara, she becomes an immortal spice‑mistress bound by strict rules (never leave her shop, never touch others, never use spices for her own gain) after a ritual of fire. Through her eyes we meet customers burdened by loneliness, racism, generational conflict, and abuse, each coming to her for solace with spices that offer healing or relief.
In the second half of the book I began to feel the novel’s ache: when a mysterious American (Raven, sometimes called Doug in retellings) enters her life, Tilo’s resolve begins to crack. Her longing and affection challenge the very foundations of her spiritual duty, and this conflict becomes a painful, tender exploration of love, identity, sacrifice, and belonging. I felt for her deeply: she isn’t a perfect heroine. Her fears and flaws make her a human being navigating impossible choices. At the same time, the spices in the book feel alive, each ingredient almost a character, a bridge between worlds and histories.
That said, the novel isn’t flawless for me. At times the romance feels fragile, the love interest’s transformation and the speed with which Tilo’s forbidden affection blooms can feel less convincing than the lush mythic atmosphere. Some characters and side stories suffer from brevity, and not every thread resolves in satisfying ways. I think these weaknesses slightly undercut the ambition of the book’s magical realism. I also sometimes wished for deeper development of the immigrant community beyond the spice‑shop interactions.
Overall I rate The Mistress of Spices 4 out of 5. Its strength lies in its sensual prose, its emotional honesty, and its brave mingling of myth, immigration, longing, and love. It is a novel that made me pause, breathe, imagine far‑off smells and hopes, and feel in a quiet but persistent way, the weight of belonging and the cost of breaking away.
Early on I found myself drawn to the atmosphere of the novel: the scent and texture of spices described so vividly that I could almost taste them, the careful weaving of immigrant lives seeking belonging in a foreign land, and the magical realism that felt mournful and hopeful all at once. Tilo is compelling and haunted: once a young woman named Nayan Tara, she becomes an immortal spice‑mistress bound by strict rules (never leave her shop, never touch others, never use spices for her own gain) after a ritual of fire. Through her eyes we meet customers burdened by loneliness, racism, generational conflict, and abuse, each coming to her for solace with spices that offer healing or relief.
In the second half of the book I began to feel the novel’s ache: when a mysterious American (Raven, sometimes called Doug in retellings) enters her life, Tilo’s resolve begins to crack. Her longing and affection challenge the very foundations of her spiritual duty, and this conflict becomes a painful, tender exploration of love, identity, sacrifice, and belonging. I felt for her deeply: she isn’t a perfect heroine. Her fears and flaws make her a human being navigating impossible choices. At the same time, the spices in the book feel alive, each ingredient almost a character, a bridge between worlds and histories.
That said, the novel isn’t flawless for me. At times the romance feels fragile, the love interest’s transformation and the speed with which Tilo’s forbidden affection blooms can feel less convincing than the lush mythic atmosphere. Some characters and side stories suffer from brevity, and not every thread resolves in satisfying ways. I think these weaknesses slightly undercut the ambition of the book’s magical realism. I also sometimes wished for deeper development of the immigrant community beyond the spice‑shop interactions.
Overall I rate The Mistress of Spices 4 out of 5. Its strength lies in its sensual prose, its emotional honesty, and its brave mingling of myth, immigration, longing, and love. It is a novel that made me pause, breathe, imagine far‑off smells and hopes, and feel in a quiet but persistent way, the weight of belonging and the cost of breaking away.
August 13, 2021
2,5 stelline
Un romanzo che inizia in maniera davvero promettente ma che poi va via via peggiorando.
Devo essere sincera, questo libro mi ha delusa parecchio perché inizialmente aveva tutte le carte per una storia particolare, magica e quasi mistica ma dopo la prima metà il tutto va degenerando.
Pian piano di va trasformando in un romance di bassa qualità, una storia d'amore campata per aria senza un vero significato e del tutto infantile e per nulla emozionante. E chiarisco subito che a me i romanzi con all'interno la parentesi rosa piacciono ma qui proprio è stata inserita male, mal sviluppata e senza un vero e proprio motivo.
Ci sono poi molti dettagli (sempre soprattutto nella seconda metà) che davvero stridono, forzature, cose importanti troncate e non spiegate... il mistico alla fine va a finire nel ridicolo.
Quindi che dire? Stile particolare ma che a lungo andare diventa quasi fastidioso, storia decisamente mal riuscita... Insomma a me, seppur all'inizio mi ero illusa di avere tra le mani una bellissima storia, non è piaciuto.
Un romanzo che inizia in maniera davvero promettente ma che poi va via via peggiorando.
Devo essere sincera, questo libro mi ha delusa parecchio perché inizialmente aveva tutte le carte per una storia particolare, magica e quasi mistica ma dopo la prima metà il tutto va degenerando.
Pian piano di va trasformando in un romance di bassa qualità, una storia d'amore campata per aria senza un vero significato e del tutto infantile e per nulla emozionante. E chiarisco subito che a me i romanzi con all'interno la parentesi rosa piacciono ma qui proprio è stata inserita male, mal sviluppata e senza un vero e proprio motivo.
Ci sono poi molti dettagli (sempre soprattutto nella seconda metà) che davvero stridono, forzature, cose importanti troncate e non spiegate... il mistico alla fine va a finire nel ridicolo.
Quindi che dire? Stile particolare ma che a lungo andare diventa quasi fastidioso, storia decisamente mal riuscita... Insomma a me, seppur all'inizio mi ero illusa di avere tra le mani una bellissima storia, non è piaciuto.
February 1, 2017
Magična Indija kroz bajkovitu priču o začinima i njihovom utjecaju na ljude i njihove živote, osjećaje i odluke, sa prstohvatom ljubavi i njezinim posljedicama.
Začini su samo dio priče, ono bitno su ipak ljudi, žena koja je odlučila izaći iz svog balona u kojem je živjela i pomoći drugima oko sebe da pronađu svoju sreću, čak i uz mogućnost da ona zauvijek izgubi sve svoje.
Začini su samo dio priče, ono bitno su ipak ljudi, žena koja je odlučila izaći iz svog balona u kojem je živjela i pomoći drugima oko sebe da pronađu svoju sreću, čak i uz mogućnost da ona zauvijek izgubi sve svoje.
July 10, 2009
I totally wanted to like this, and I did starting out...but 1/3 of the way through I just felt the pace slow to the speed of molasses, or maybe ghee if we're going to be culturally accurate.
Tilo travels through time from a magical island to a spice shop in Oakland, where she gives out magic potions to other Indians but is supposed to let everyone else suffer through life on their own. (Yeah, that's the premise.) Then she meets a handsome American who appears to see how beautiful she is under her disguise of an old woman, and they fall in love, or something. I didn't get that far.
I like Indian food and cooking so the writing was appropriately exotic, and I didn't know what kalo jire was until I looked it up and realized it's what we call nigella and I have some in my cupboard right now. I doubt, though, it'll reduce my pain and/or suffering.
Tilo travels through time from a magical island to a spice shop in Oakland, where she gives out magic potions to other Indians but is supposed to let everyone else suffer through life on their own. (Yeah, that's the premise.) Then she meets a handsome American who appears to see how beautiful she is under her disguise of an old woman, and they fall in love, or something. I didn't get that far.
I like Indian food and cooking so the writing was appropriately exotic, and I didn't know what kalo jire was until I looked it up and realized it's what we call nigella and I have some in my cupboard right now. I doubt, though, it'll reduce my pain and/or suffering.
November 7, 2017
This is a modern-day fairy tale, and like all fairy tales there is a lesson (or several) to be learned. Reminiscent of "Like Water for Chocolate." Makes me wish I knew more about spice lore and Indian folklore.
I read it again in Sept 1998 and it is even better on second reading. I picked up many more clues. FATE at work here? DESTINY? A most intriguing book.
I read it again in Sept 1998 and it is even better on second reading. I picked up many more clues. FATE at work here? DESTINY? A most intriguing book.
Want to read
September 2, 2023“We had known it would be hard to leave this island of women where on our skin the warm rain fell like pomegranate seeds, where we woke to birdcall and slept to the First Mother’s singing, where we swam naked without shame in lakes of blue lotus. To exchange it for the human world whose harshness we remembered. But this?”
“Each spice has a special day to it. For turmeric it is Sunday, when light drips fat and butter-colored into the bins to be soaked up glowing, when you pray to the nine planets for love and luck.”
But that silk cloud pulls my words out of me. And into him.
“For a moment I hold their glance, and the air around us grows still and heavy. A few chilies drop to the floor, scattering like hard green rain. The child twists in her mother’s tightened grip, whimpering. Their glance skittery with fear with wanting. Witchwoman, say the eyes. Under their lowered lids they remember the stories whispered around night fires in their home villages. ‘That’s all for today,’ one woman tells me, wiping her hands on nubby polyester thighs, sliding a package of chilies at me. ‘Shhh baby little rani,’ croons the other, busies herself with the child’s tangled curls until I have rung up her purchases. They keep their cautious faces turned away as they leave. But they will come back later. After darkness. They will knock on the shut door of the store that smells of their desires and ask. I will take them into the inner room, the one with no windows, where I keep the purest spices, the ones I gathered on the island for times of special need. I will light the candle I keep ready and search the soot-streaked dimness for lotus root and powdered methi, paste of fennel and sun-roasted asafetida. I will chant. I will administer. I will pray to remove sadness and suffering as the Old One taught, I will deliver warning. This is why I left the island where each day still is melted sugar and cinnamon, and birds with diamond throats sing, and silence when it falls is light as mountain mist. Left it for this store, where I have brought together everything you need in order to be happy.”
May 9, 2020
** Books 63 - 2020 **
Buku ini untuk menyelesaikan Baca Keliling Dunia dan Tsundoku Books Challenge 2020
3,4 dari 5 bintang!
Akhirnya selesai juga aku backpackeran dari Negara Kamboja dan mendarat di Kota Calcutta, India.
Sebenarnya aku kayaknya menonton filmnya duluan baru baca bukunya ini. Setelah aku tahu bahwa penulisnya adalah salah satu penulis favoritku aku bergegas mencari bukunya yang ternyata masih ada di marketplace.
buku ini mengisahkan cerita mengenai Tillotama a.k.a Tillo yang sebelumnya adalah gadis yang tiada artinya di mata orangtuanya menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah. menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah juga tidak mudah para gadis harus menemukan suatu pulau tersembunyi dan harus diterima oleh para tetua dulu kalau mereka lolos baru bisa dilatih menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah.
Sejujurnya aku suka dengan konsep idenya yang menggunakan rempah-rempah. aku baru tahu kalau rempah-rempah banyak fungsi dan khasiat tersembunyinya yang aku tahu hanya sebagai bumbu masakan wkwkkw. dan disini aku juga menyukai pergolakan batin Tillo ketika ia berada di amerika apakah dia harus tetap mendengarkan si rempah-rempah atau menolong para customernya meski ia harus melanggar sumpahnya
ada perbedaan juga antara film dan bukunya dan aku melihat versi film lebih sedih ya. kalau buku karena endingnya seperti itu ya udah hanya kuberikan 3 bintang saja meski jalan ceritanya menarik tetep sih sejauh ini dari semua karya Chitra Banerjee divakaruni yang aku baca aku paling suka The Palace of Illusions dan Sister of My Heart yang lebih menimbulkan kesan mendalam di hati
Buku ini untuk menyelesaikan Baca Keliling Dunia dan Tsundoku Books Challenge 2020
3,4 dari 5 bintang!
Akhirnya selesai juga aku backpackeran dari Negara Kamboja dan mendarat di Kota Calcutta, India.
Sebenarnya aku kayaknya menonton filmnya duluan baru baca bukunya ini. Setelah aku tahu bahwa penulisnya adalah salah satu penulis favoritku aku bergegas mencari bukunya yang ternyata masih ada di marketplace.
buku ini mengisahkan cerita mengenai Tillotama a.k.a Tillo yang sebelumnya adalah gadis yang tiada artinya di mata orangtuanya menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah. menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah juga tidak mudah para gadis harus menemukan suatu pulau tersembunyi dan harus diterima oleh para tetua dulu kalau mereka lolos baru bisa dilatih menjadi penguasa rempah-rempah.
Sejujurnya aku suka dengan konsep idenya yang menggunakan rempah-rempah. aku baru tahu kalau rempah-rempah banyak fungsi dan khasiat tersembunyinya yang aku tahu hanya sebagai bumbu masakan wkwkkw. dan disini aku juga menyukai pergolakan batin Tillo ketika ia berada di amerika apakah dia harus tetap mendengarkan si rempah-rempah atau menolong para customernya meski ia harus melanggar sumpahnya
ada perbedaan juga antara film dan bukunya dan aku melihat versi film lebih sedih ya. kalau buku karena endingnya seperti itu ya udah hanya kuberikan 3 bintang saja meski jalan ceritanya menarik tetep sih sejauh ini dari semua karya Chitra Banerjee divakaruni yang aku baca aku paling suka The Palace of Illusions dan Sister of My Heart yang lebih menimbulkan kesan mendalam di hati
July 18, 2019
He tardado un poco en acostumbrarme al estilo, pero debo decir que me gustó bastante. Los personajes secundarios son muy muy interesantes y me encantó todo lo relacionado con las especias y sus usos. El único personaje que no fue del todo de mi agrado fue Cuervo, no sé, algo en él no me gusta, incluso pensé que le estaba tendiendo una trampa a Tilo xD
January 13, 2015
I couldn't sit through the film of this book, but at the time I put it down to the casting and direction. The film version reminded me strongly of "Woman on Top" though I have no idea which was released first...but yeah, woman expresses her "magic" through food/spices, somehow transgresses the "rules" of her craft, counts it all well lost for love, and somehow manages to get back in the good graces of her goddess...yup, pretty similar.
I liked the writing at first, but again, I can't finish it. Style can't carry a novel, as I have said before, and after awhile the choppy biz starts to pall. The story itself breathes negativity. How old is this woman, supposedly? She lives about three lifetimes before she even gets to the "magic island." And those other lives don't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story, particularly the whole pirate-queen thing. To top it off, this woman is supposedly (eventually, when she finishes with the first two lives) dedicated to her craft so of course she sets out knowingly and voluntarily to break all the norms, and is surprised when it all goes terribly wrong. She throws it all away for a guy because she thinks he's got paradise in his jeans...or something. Yes, I am aware that we all screw up on things that are dear to us, and we aren't perfect, but she drove me nuts with her flashbacks, astral travel warnings...and off we go to voluntarily transgress in a way we've just been warned about. Wah, wah--and why won't the spices talk to me? Could it be because you're no longer listening?
Will there be a redemption? I honestly no longer care. I found myself putting the book down...and weeks passed. I honestly don't think I'll have time to finish a book that was increasingly hard work. If I didn't have anything else to read, I might, but life's too short to trudge through something that isn't holding my attention.
I liked the writing at first, but again, I can't finish it. Style can't carry a novel, as I have said before, and after awhile the choppy biz starts to pall. The story itself breathes negativity. How old is this woman, supposedly? She lives about three lifetimes before she even gets to the "magic island." And those other lives don't seem to have much to do with the rest of the story, particularly the whole pirate-queen thing. To top it off, this woman is supposedly (eventually, when she finishes with the first two lives) dedicated to her craft so of course she sets out knowingly and voluntarily to break all the norms, and is surprised when it all goes terribly wrong. She throws it all away for a guy because she thinks he's got paradise in his jeans...or something. Yes, I am aware that we all screw up on things that are dear to us, and we aren't perfect, but she drove me nuts with her flashbacks, astral travel warnings...and off we go to voluntarily transgress in a way we've just been warned about. Wah, wah--and why won't the spices talk to me? Could it be because you're no longer listening?
Will there be a redemption? I honestly no longer care. I found myself putting the book down...and weeks passed. I honestly don't think I'll have time to finish a book that was increasingly hard work. If I didn't have anything else to read, I might, but life's too short to trudge through something that isn't holding my attention.
August 27, 2012
Questa lettura, per me, ha una storia strana. Vidi il libro qulche anno fa sul banco di una biblioteca dell'Università, era di una ragazza che a furia di leggerlo lo aveva consumato.
Mi colpì il nome dell'autrice, che non conoscevo... aveva un nome che sapeva di India... annotai nome e titolo sul palmo della mano e mi diressi nella prima libreria: preso! (conservo ancora lo scontrino come segnalibro!) Come spesso accade il libro rimase sulla mia scrivania per ben due anni. Non di oblio ma di abbandono per mancanza di tempo. Poi finalmente il momento giusto è arrivato: ed ecco spalancarmisi il mondo creato da Tilo, la Maga delle Spezie. Il profumo di cannella, zenzero, trigonella, dei semi di coriandolo "sferici come la terra, per farti vedere chiaro" si sparge realmente, si avverte palpabile. E poi lo zafferano, la Spezia della quale Tilo è servitrice.
Ogni capitolo ha il nome di una spezia e raconta un passo in più di questa vecchia signora chiusa nella sua bottega, che in realtà è giovanissima ed ha un mondo tutto per se. Ci sarà spazio per l'amore nella vita di Tilo? Le spezie lo permetteranno?
Il suo destino e quello di altri personaggi sono intercciati con la benedizione o la maledizione delle spezie, che in ogni momento sono sovrane!
Mi colpì il nome dell'autrice, che non conoscevo... aveva un nome che sapeva di India... annotai nome e titolo sul palmo della mano e mi diressi nella prima libreria: preso! (conservo ancora lo scontrino come segnalibro!) Come spesso accade il libro rimase sulla mia scrivania per ben due anni. Non di oblio ma di abbandono per mancanza di tempo. Poi finalmente il momento giusto è arrivato: ed ecco spalancarmisi il mondo creato da Tilo, la Maga delle Spezie. Il profumo di cannella, zenzero, trigonella, dei semi di coriandolo "sferici come la terra, per farti vedere chiaro" si sparge realmente, si avverte palpabile. E poi lo zafferano, la Spezia della quale Tilo è servitrice.
Ogni capitolo ha il nome di una spezia e raconta un passo in più di questa vecchia signora chiusa nella sua bottega, che in realtà è giovanissima ed ha un mondo tutto per se. Ci sarà spazio per l'amore nella vita di Tilo? Le spezie lo permetteranno?
Il suo destino e quello di altri personaggi sono intercciati con la benedizione o la maledizione delle spezie, che in ogni momento sono sovrane!
June 5, 2011
I think it was boring personally and just the type of books i hate. I mean like i get the storyline a bit but like half of the book you don't really need to know about. I felt the author added to much stuff about minor characters that had nothing to do with the main ideas of the story and it kind of made the story fail in my point of view. I also gave it a low rating because the book couldn't get to the point fast enough like they leave you with an idea halfway and it switches to a whole new idea and setting which gets me confused. The only thing i like about this book is how the girls tries so hard to fight against her desires ti not go against her teaching and be like a fallen angel to earth but it still happens in the end which is funny. It went against what she said in the beginning to her teacher that she will not submit to her desires but she did which is funny.Overall not a book i would read again or tell others to read because it doesn't seem to have anything that would interest you or catches the reader's attention.
July 15, 2008
love the premise, magic acting through spices. the heroine is supposed to use her training and powers for her own people but compassion leads her to help all who come to her--a lesson in diversity? a dreamy lilt to the tone of the writing, charming word arrangement (is English the author's second language?), an ending that reminds me of that one Batman villain from the animated series who wants to destroy the world so it can heal itself over (Razul?). the love story part is on the verge of silly but silliness does seem to be inherent in the most touching love stories
July 17, 2019
Al principio del libro es difícil agarrar el ritmo, pero después sabemos todas las historias de los personajes y el sentido del libro.
Al ir viendo las desventuras de nuestra protagonista así como sus anhelos, y me hizo recordar varias libros como "ojos azules", "mil soles espléndidos", "el color púrpura" y en unas partes vi unos destellos de "mujercitas".
En resumen es una historia cruel y realista, así como altamente feminista.
Lo recomiendo mucho, solo que tendrían que tener paciencia en en el arranque de la historia.
Al ir viendo las desventuras de nuestra protagonista así como sus anhelos, y me hizo recordar varias libros como "ojos azules", "mil soles espléndidos", "el color púrpura" y en unas partes vi unos destellos de "mujercitas".
En resumen es una historia cruel y realista, así como altamente feminista.
Lo recomiendo mucho, solo que tendrían que tener paciencia en en el arranque de la historia.
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