The Complete Jaipur Trilogy

The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris

De: Alka Joshi

Narrado por: Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam, Deepa Samuel

THE NEW YORK TIMES BETSELLING TRILOGY

"Captivated me from the first chapter to the final page."—Reese Witherspoon

"Powerful and evocative.” —Kate Quinn

The Henna Artist
A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK
Vivid and compelling, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own. Years later, she is confronted by her husband who has tracked her down with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened.

The Secret Keeper of Jaipur
It’s the spring of 1969 and Lakshmi now directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik, her protégé, has finished his private school education, and at twenty, he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema. Malik soon finds that power and money move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth.

The Perfumist of Paris
Paris, 1974. Radha, Lakshmi's younger sister, is living in Paris with her husband and their two daughters, to whom she is devoted, when she finally discovers her passion—the treasure trove of scents.
She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her. Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out a secret she's kept from her husband for years is about to be revealed, upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

great stories

Very engaging characters and excellent narrators. The books are feel good and throught provoking

Rich and rewarding

The narrators are wonderful. The characters and imagery goes deep and are enhanced by imagining the scents and details of each chapter. The three novels take one through the trials and lives enough to say goodbye to wonderfully wrought friends .

Wonderfully Detailed Account of Daily Life in India with an Intriguing Story Across Generations

All three books were read expertly and gave me a real sense of the lives of all the characters in this trilogy. Wonderful listen! Thanks for the creativity and performances of the writer and readers, respectively! I will listen to this again!

Beautiful story

It is hard to single out what I like best. The challenges the main characters face and move through with the most grace. The growth in the characters. There is just so much to love about these books.

Great life journey story

I loved the way how a gentle feminist point of view was delicately woven into a life story of an extraordinary indian girl. I fell in love with India all over again by the colorful descriptions of the people and the culture. But, I have to say that the 3rd book didn't feel as finished and as polished like the first 2 books, which are very well written.

Beautiful & sensual imagery of India and Paris with scents so well described I could feel their effects.

The story was lovely with well planned twists and interesting characters. It was a joy to listen to.

The cultural aspect of this book

Is fascinating. Alka’s prose is superb.
A book I could not put down right from the beginning. I traveled to India and dreamed about it. What a lovely powerful story.

Loved it!

Not my normal genera but couldn't stop listening and with each installment felt closer to each of the characters. Love the character development over time. Voice actors were perfectly on point for each of the characters too.

Wonderful read. Big thumbs up.

I really liked all three of these books. The characters were relatable, the vivid descriptions of sights, smells and customs were extraordinary. Alka must have put in many, many hours of research into each book and it shows. It was so gripping I stayed up way too late listening.
I also loved the narrators. They were all excellent and very easy to listen to.
If I could change anything, I would make the little sister a bit less 'woe is me'. Everything bad that happened to her was someone else's fault. She constantly blamed her older sister. I quickly lost all sympathy and thought of her as a spoiled brat.
Highly recommend this trilogy.

Great finale

I loved all three books, but I think I loved the first and this last book best. Such wonderful storytelling, and such fantastic narrators! Throughout, I had the colours of India before my inner eye, and its taste on my tongue. What an awesome journey this was!