Rosarita

By: Anita Desai

Narrated by: Meera Simhan

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER

From “world-class writer” (The Washington Post) and three-time Booker finalist Anita Desai, an exquisitely written stunning exploration of love, place, memory, history, and the secrets between a mother and her daughter.

Away from her home in India to study Spanish, Bonita sits on a bench in El Jardin de San Miguel, Mexico, basking in the park’s lush beauty, when she slowly becomes aware that she is being watched. An elderly woman approaches her, claiming that she knew Bonita’s mother—that they had been friends when Bonita’s mother had lived in Mexico as a talented young artist. Bonita tells the stranger that she must be mistaken; her mother was not a painter and had never travelled to Mexico. Though the stranger leaves, Bonita cannot shake the feeling that she is being followed.

Days later, haunted by the encounter, Bonita seeks out the woman, whom she calls The Trickster, and follows her on a tour of what may, or may not, have been her mother’s past. As a series of mysterious events brilliantly unfold, Bonita is unable to escape The Trickster’s presence, as she is forced to confront questions of truth and identity, and specters of familial and national violence.

A masterpiece of storytelling from a gifted writer, Rosarita is a profound mediation on mothers and marriage, art and self-expression, and how the traumas from the past can impact future generations.

Critic reviews

"With vocal agility Simhan deftly shifts her tone and accent to realistically narrate diverse characters. Simhan’s strength lies in narrating emotionally fraught passages that will move listeners."

Soooo… what exactly happened here

The unresolved ending left me with the feeling of watching a movie that finishes with “To be continued” splashed across the screen

Outlandish, pointless characters

I don’t need to have a novella tied up in a neat bow at the end. But this one introduces one after another mysterious, or preternatural, or boozy character that we have to get to know, but who ultimately adds nothing to the plot. Why were we pulled into the argument over the ownership of the hotel? Why were we introduced to the boozy Americans at the beach? In the end, they were just cartoons. I would have enjoyed it more if it were a travelogue, rather than a promise of a mystery about to be solved. Also, the case of the similarities of the Mexican and Indian revolutions should have been woven into the story more fundamentally, not tacked on the end like a postscript.

Not a fan

I'm sure the author has best of intentions. But the over use of words and descriptors lost me.
I'm a massive Ann Rice fan...Desai uses words to cover for a lack of depth.
Wanted to enjoy...just can't.

Waste of time

2nd person narrative made me feel like i was reading a “choose your own adventure” book but not as fun. While the poetic descriptions of the setting were sometimes dreamlike and thought provoking, the storyline went nowhere and at the end I felt like I had just read the teaser to what might have been
An interesting novel.

Meandering and lacking a plot

This was a painful read. The story was meandering, the characters not fully developed , and just seemed like it was thrown together in an attempted William Faulkner stream of consciousness.