Alka Joshi

It's 1937 in Bombay, and Sona Falstaff is a night nurse at Wadia Hospital — Anglo-Indian, the product of a British father who abandoned his family and an Indian mother who raised her alone. Sona inhabits an uncomfortable in-between space in colonial Bombay, belonging fully to neither world. When renowned painter Mira Novak is admitted after a miscarriage, Sona is immediately drawn to her — Mira is flamboyant, sexually liberated, fiercely political, and also half-Indian, her father a show more Czech aristocrat and her mother Indian. Mira fills the six days of her hospital stay with stories of her travels and her many lovers scattered across Europe, and she sees something larger in Sona than the small, careful life Sona has built for herself. Mira is released just in time for a lavish engagement party where all of Bombay society turns out — and then she dies, under circumstances that leave Sona's professional reputation in question.
Mira leaves Sona four paintings with cryptic hints about where she wants them delivered. Suddenly Sona — who has rarely left her mother's side, let alone India — is on a boat to Europe, traveling through Prague, Florence, Paris, and London to find Mira's former lovers and deliver the paintings, unravel the mystery of her death, and clear her own name. It's her first time out of India, and in each city she learns more about who Mira really was. The novel is inspired by the real historical painter Amrita Sher-Gil. The Bombay section makes up roughly two-thirds of the book, with the European journey compressed into the final third.

[May contain spoilers]
As Sona meets Mira's European circle — former lovers, fellow artists, a married man named Paulo who emerges as key to understanding Mira's death and the fate of the baby — the truth of what happened in Bombay gradually becomes clear. Mira's death was tied to the complicated circumstances of her pregnancy and the people who had reasons to conceal the truth. Sona falls into a romance with a man named Edward along the way. The ending returns Sona to Bombay, her identity questions at least partially resolved and her world considerably expanded. The pacing is the most commonly noted issue — the Bombay section is slow and the European journey feels rushed given how much emotional ground it needs to cover.
What I think: This is lush, atmospheric historical fiction with a wonderful setting and a genuinely compelling central friendship — Mira is a magnetic creation and Sona's identity struggle as an Anglo-Indian woman in colonial Bombay is richly rendered. The pacing imbalance between the two halves is a real problem though, and Sona's naivety can be frustrating even when it's intentional. Probably a 3 to 3.5 from you — beautiful in places but slightly unsatisfying in execution. show less

India on the cusp!

As India moves towards independence so does Sona Falstaff. Sona is a nurse in the Wadia Hospital in Bombay. Europe is galloping towards war, India towards freedom from the British Raj, Sona finds herself also on the cusp, taking steps into the unknown.
Sona is a compassionate and dedicated nurse with a lively sense of humor. Amongst her patients number a vivacious painter, Mira Novak and a charming elderly rascal, Dr. Ralph Stoddard. Both will figure into Sona’s search for show more herself.
Sona is an Anglo-Indian. At a time when India is looking to govern itself, that mixed heritage becomes a barrier for her. She’s neither fish nor fowl.
As usual, Alka Joshi draws us into the colors of life in late 1930’s India. The emotions are all captured, brimming with reality.
Sona’s journey from the hospital in Bombay to Europe, on a quest for her painter friend, is a journey of self awareness, of independence, and of choices.
Empathetically written, a searching novel from Alka Joshi exploring what it is to belong, to take steps towards freedom, to unshackle from the past and to confront one’s personal history.

A Harlequin Trade ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher. show less

“Success was ephemeral—and fluid—as I’d found out the hard way. It came. It went. It changed you from the outside, but not from the inside. Inside, I was still the same girl who dreamed of a destiny greater than she was allowed.”
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Alka Joshi has woven a beautiful and deep tale. She takes us back in time a bit to a place women did not have many choices in life and gives us Lakshmi. A complicated women who decides to forge her own path, and comes to an understanding with the world, show more others and herself. I enjoyed following Lakshmi and couldn’t stop rooting for her. show less

Lakshmi has a lucrative business in Jaipur as a henna artist to the city’s elite, but when her sister arrives on her doorstep her carefully built world begins to crumble. Secret #1: Lakshmi’s husband is alive (if not exactly well). After fleeing his abuses a decade before, Lakshmi has been careful to keep her reputation a secret from the still traditional women who pay her bills. Secret #2: Her business as a henna artist is bolstered by a side-hustle as an apothecary cum abortionist. show more Taught by her mother-in-law, Lakshmi brings a knowledge of traditional herbal lore to help women in Jaipur gain a modicum of freedom from the restrictions of marriage and childrearing - even if the clients are the mistresses of the husbands of her henna-ed ladies. Secret #3: As Lakshmi’s sister becomes ingrained in Jaipur’s society, she accidentally becomes pregnant by way of the son of one of Lakshmi’s most important clients. The pregnancy creates a rift in Lakshmi’s carefully built life, one which can’t be solved by any easy means. Yet, through her networks of contacts (and a few daring moves), a solution is found that looks like it will carefully bridge the gap between India’s traditions and modern life - and which will maybe regain Lakshmi her reputation and business. Joshi weaves a colourful setting with fractious characters that make us question the notion of tradition, making the complicated world of Jaipur come to life and exploring a women’s perspective of a shifting 1950s India. Complicated to say the least, and endearing or heartrending in theme - depending on your perspective - I definitely want to go back to Joshi’s Jaipur for another literary visit. show less