Independence

A Novel

By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

“Divakaruni tells the story of India’s independence through the eyes of three sisters, each of whom is uniquely different, with her own desires and flaws. I cheered for them and cried with them as they move through the history of their country that is at once devastating, inspiring, and triumphant. You will, too.”—Lisa See, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Set during the partition of British India in 1947, a time when neighbor was pitted against neighbor and families were torn apart, award-winning author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel brings to life the sweeping story of three sisters caught up in events beyond their control, their unbreakable bond, and their incredible struggle against powerful odds.

India, 1947.

In a rural village in Bengal live three sisters, daughters of a well-respected doctor.

Priya: intelligent and idealistic, resolved to follow in her father’s footsteps and become a doctor, though society frowns on it.

Deepa: the beauty, determined to make a marriage that will bring her family joy and status.

Jamini: devout, sharp-eyed, and a talented quiltmaker, with deeper passions than she reveals.

Theirs is a home of love and safety, a refuge from the violent events taking shape in the nation. Then their father is killed during a riot, and even their neighbors turn against them, bringing the events of their country closer to home.

As Priya determinedly pursues her career goal, Deepa falls deeply in love with a Muslim, causing her to break with her family. And Jamini attempts to hold her family together, even as she secretly longs for her sister’s fiancè.

When the partition of India is officially decided, a drastic—and dangerous—change is in the air. India is now for Hindus, Pakistan for Muslims. The sisters find themselves separated from one another, each on different paths. They fear for what will happen to not just themselves, but each other.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni outdoes herself with this deeply moving story of sisterhood and friendship, painting an account of India’s independence simultaneously exhilarating and devastating, that will make any listener—new or old—a devoted fan.

©2023 Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Beautiful story from one of my favorite authors

I am always fully taken in by Chitra Banerjee Divakuruni's writing and this was no exception. I feel like I need to do some historical research into this time period now as my knowledge of the partition is definitely lacking. I am not a huge fan of stories about family dynamics (which I know sounds odd) but I really love her stories. They are beautiful and illustrative.

Sisterhood journey

I really love the subject matter of the book. I also loved the sisters and their own unique journeys. I didn’t like Jamini’s marriage and the number of complex characters - I felt like I needed to build a organization workflow to understand how everyone connected and when. I want to read it over again and see if I can understand it better.

Terrific narration book was hard to keep up with

I had to replay in a few sections, but overall a good book with great narration.
I would definitely read another book from this author and listen to this performer again.

A good story

This is the story of a family in India during a time of great political upheaval. The journey to independence had a profound effect on all while taking them on unexpected paths.
A read/listen which worked well because I didn't have to struggle with pronunciation. That always takes me out of a story. Sneha Mathan provided excellent narration.

Love stories in between history making

I was eager to know more of the inside details of Independence of India. This book gave what I wanted and more, with human characters that kept me interested. Great work from Banerjee

A transportive quality to the story

I quite enjoyed the story.

Also, Sneha Mathan is excellent (as usual) in her narration.

R.

Sisterhood, strength, and perseverance

A beautiful story that bounces between sisters and their respective paths through life. Heartache and political turmoil sprinkled throughout.

Perfectly Moving

Independence is a wonderful story, narrated beautifully, and gave me a great push to learn more about India’s history and struggle to obtain independence. The themes of this book worked so intricately well, I was concerned about the length not being able to provide enough detail. I am not a huge romance novel fan and so I loved the way the author did not over power the love stories and had a healthy balance of real life tragedy and triumph. Wonderful book! Will recommend to many!

Amazing, one of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s best yet

I have been captivated by this author’s writing as well as this narrator’s skill in storytelling. Once again the two have come together to amaze the reader with a poignant story that brings to life much of what took place in the lives of citizens surrounding India’s Independence. I loved this every moment of listening to this novel.

Excellent story line and narration

I absolutely loved the narrative and the narration. Set during India’s independence and the formation of Bangla Desh or at that time East Pakistan, the author does an exceptional job of framing the events of the time around the story line of 3 Bengali sisters. Highly recommend the book and the audio version