Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes

Are there certain books that just appeal to you from the moment you read the jacket copy, charm you throughout the reading of them, and leave you with a happy glow when you've closed the covers on them? They aren't pulse pounding or edge of your seat reading, they are gentle, comfortable, and lovely and make you hope that the author is writing more just like them. Books like this are few and far between for me but they are always so appreciated when I do happen across one of them. Betsy Woodman's Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes is one of those books (and is in fact the first in a planned series). Just looking at the book gives me a contented feeling.

Janet Laird, a widowed Scottish woman, who has spent much of her life in India and feels show more most at home there rather than in her native Scotland, inherits her grandfather's home in the small northern Himalayan hill town of Hamara Nagar (translated as "Our Town") and determines that she will go and live there now that she is no longer needed as a music teacher to a nawab's children and despite her rather uptight son's admonitions that she come home to Scotland to live as she's in her late fifties and, in his opinion, too old to live alone. But Jana Bibi, as she is called in India, has a bit more steel in her spine than her son suspects and she chooses her own course without regret, a course that takes her to the Jolly Grant House, new friends, and happiness.

When Jana, her maid Mary, and her garralous parrot Mr. Ganguly first arrive in Hamara Nagar they discover that the Jolly Grant House will require quite a bit of work to be made habitable, starting with evicting the monkeys who currently live throughout the home. As Jana works on her house, she makes the acquaintance of her neighbors and other various townspeople who end up taking her into their hearts and lives. She meets the local tailors, the owner of the local Treasure Emporium, a bagpipe playing Gurkha security guard, a young mute boy and his mother, the rigid and less than pleasant police chief, the editor of the local paper, some of the girls from the private school in town, and an American ex-pat who might or might not be CIA. With this colorful cast of characters, Jana goes about righting her house and starting a life in this appealing town. When she has settled in some, she discovers that the government has plans to flood their small town to create a dam. In a bid to prevent this, Jana sets up shop as a fortune teller so that the town has a bit more appeal for tourists, a measure the government is sure to use when finalizing a location for the dam. Helped by her chatty and entertaining parrot, Jana's shop is a hit and she becomes a vital part of the town's life.

Aside from the threat of being flooded, the novel focuses more on the everyday domestic dramas of life in a small town and the assorted people who live and love there. The characters are eccentric, quirky, and delightful. They are developed in such a way as to be respectful to their customs, wishes, and dreams and each of them is very definitely an individual. Jana herself is sweet and as she slowly discloses her past, her quiet insistence on living her life as she chooses now becomes clearer and more understandable to the reader. The setting is well-written and beautifully captures the spirit and feel of India. The connection and welcome of the place is very realistic and just about everything about this lovely book made me want to visit India again. If you are looking for a feel good novel with a touch of the exotic blended with a universal kindness and acceptance, this is the book for you. show less

Billed as the "first of a charming series" and reminiscent of the 1st Ladies Detective Agency series, Gail Fraser's Lumby series, or Ann Ross's Miss Julia series, Woodman re-visits the land of her childhood and gives us a charming, eccentric, thoroughly modern widow - Janet Laird (aka Jana Bibi), her parrot Mr. Ganguly, and her maid Mary. The book also brings to mind the characters and adventures of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" - the characters are as quirky and the setting is enchanting.

Jana Bibi has inherited an old ramshackle house (the Jolly Grant House) that she lived in as a child. It has been years and a lifetime of (mis)adventures since she's seen the place, but she is determined that this is where she will live out her show more golden years. She immediately sets out to refurbish the house and get to know her neighbors - an assortment of people representing a large swath of Indian life - Hindus, Muslims, English and American ex-pats from every socio-economic level. When the townsfolk become aware that the government is planning to build a dam in the area and intends to flood their town forcing them all to relocate, they decide to take matters into their own hands to save the town and cancel the dam.

Almost every review of this delightful book uses the word "charming" to describe it and the characters in it. I'd add captivating and enchanting to the list. There is nothing heavy, it starts out a bit slowly, but the reader is immediately lost in a dazzling culture that is portrayed with love and respect. It almost needs a "Once Upon a Time" and a "happily ever after" to make it perfect, but even without them, it's a magical and pleasant reading adventure.

Woodman also explains the setting with a short author's note at the beginning, gives us a very well-written and easy to use glossary of terms, and then adds some "etcetera" - extra features about the characters and some of the setting designed to enhance our understanding, and definitely whetting our appetite for more of the series. A well-done debut. show less

This charmer is set in an Indian hill town in 1960.

When Janet MacPhearson Laird inherits the Jolly Grant House she settles in with Mr. Ganguly, her parrot, Mary, her children's former ayah, Tilku, an orphaned messenger boy/ parrot sitter, a sweeper, and Lal Bahadur Pun, a bagpipe-playing, monkey-chasing night watchman.

She becomes deeply involved in the life of the village, and much to her very Scottish son's chagrin, agrees to play an integral part in a plot to save Hamara Nagar from the government's plan to turn the town into a catchment basin for a new dam.

This book is in turns funny and wise and is utterly irresistable. I would love to be invited into Jana Bibi's parlor and have her tell my fortune while sipping tea and holding Mr. show more Ganguly on my shoulder! show less

Janet Laird, fondly known as Jana Bibi, is Scottish by heritage, but in her heart and on her passport she is Indian.
Her parents were in the civil service before Indian independence, she was born there, and except for a few unhappy years in Scotland after their death, she has lived all her life in her beloved India. She returned as the wife of a missionary, and after his death, supported her and her son as a musician (seems to be more to that story) and a violin teacher. But her life is turned on it's head when she gets a letter informing her that she has inherited her grandfather's house in a faraway Indian hill station, Hamara Nagar, the historic Jolly Grant House. So she packs up her housekeeper Mary and one of the stars of the book, show more the charming and very talkative Mr. Ganguly, and off they head for a grand adventure. Happily we get to go along!

But not all is rosy. The house has been taken over by monkeys, but not to worry. All you have to do is hire the friendly local Gurkha to drive them off with the sound of his bagpipes. And then there is the matter of the dam that the government plans to build right where they stand, wiping out their village. So the locals hatch a plan to put the town on the map, make it famous and save it and Jana Bibi, reborn as the local fortune teller, is in the center of the plan, make it a tourist attraction. She is joined in the endeavor by her new friends, like Ramachandran, whose Treasure Emporium store will furnish her salon, Feroze Ali Khan of Royal Tailors who will make her costume, and Rambir, editor of the local newspaper who will publicize the new venture. And they are just a few of the wonderful characters we will meet in this delightful book, along with a cast of American, Europeans, Muslim and Hindu and Christian Indians, one very corrupt police chief and a convention of 'futurists'.
Everyone must rally together if the town is to be saved!

As I turned the last page, my opinion of this book was clear...it is utterly charming and a totally enjoyable read! Charming! I promise you will put this book down with a smile on your face.

The book touches on a few serious topics as well as the danger of the dam, such as the problems, the bloodshed, that arose from the road to Indian independence and the separation of India and Pakistan, the concerns for a child that does not want to follow their parents path in life...the disappearance of our dear parrot friend. But yes, you just know that somehow everything will turn out OK and we will have a happy ending. Perhaps everything is just a tiny bit idealized, but I guarantee you will be delightfully swept away with the exotic setting and a wonderful cast of characters of this book. show less

This is a wonderfully fun novel that at times, feels a bit like a fable. It is the tale of a 58-year-old Scottish woman who, in 1960, falls into a new life at a house she inherits in an Indian mountain town near the Himalayas. It is the story of all of the people she brings with her, the ones she meets and how she tries to reconcile her life here with the expected senior living her son expects of her back in Scotland. Her new home quickly falls into jeopardy as it is slated for destruction as a catchment area for the government. I try to stay clear of words like "charming" in reviews, but this book really is charming. As readers, we get to see the best in humans, although none are perfect. We see hope and working together. The other show more wonderful thing is the writing is very good and witty, interesting and clearly, the author has vast knowledge of the place and people of India. It was just a lot of fun and I finished in a few days. My only complaint, which is small, is that there were too many characters and not enough time to get to know them. However, I do understand this is one in a series, so perhaps I will have that opportunity in coming books. Something to look forward to! Highly recommended, especially if someone you know is searching for something upbeat and hopeful to read. show less

Janet MacPherson Laird, aka Jana Bibi, is Scottish in heritage, but she’s lived in India for most of her 58 years and it’s where she most likes to be, so she’s very pleased when she learns she’s inherited her Grandfather’s Jolly Grant House estate in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. There’s trouble almost immediately, of course. The house is overrun by monkeys who have despoiled everything inside and are only frightened off by the sound of bagpipes played by a friendly local Gurkha. Then, not long after Jana Bibi is able to move in, she finds that the whole town is destined to soon be underwater after the construction of a government planned dam. The villagers conceive of a grand plan to put their town on the map, making it show more too valuable to destroy, and Jana Bibi is recruited to attract tourists by telling fortunes with the help of her very chatty parrot.

It’s 1960, thirteen years after independence from Great Britain and the separation of Pakistan and India, so the Hindu, Muslim and Christian residents of the little town are still reacting to the aftereffects of the changes. This is not a fast paced story, but for the most part I didn’t want to hurry it along because it’s in a colorful exotic setting and filled with wonderful characters, including a philosophical tailor, his movie loving nephew, the lively girls from a local boarding school for Americans and Europeans, and the always game for adventure Jana Bibi herself, to name just a few. Fortunately this is the first of a series so there will be more opportunities to spend time with Jana Bibi and her neighbors. show less

Overall, JANA BIBI’S EXCELLENT FORTUNES is a charming and inviting story that is immediately entertaining. Author, Betsy Woodman, clearly has a wonderful command of the language and has created likable characters and an engaging world for them to inhabit. That being said, some readers may find this, first of a series, an awful lot like Alexander McCall Smith’s several series with its Scottish element; charming, quirky characters; and an exotic location with small, locally owned businesses with cute names like the “Why Not? Tea Shop”. In addition, the tone of the first chapters makes the end a foregone conclusion: nothing bad is going to happen to Hamara Nagar. Even so, this is an enjoyable book and well worth including in show more one’s summer reading.

The story takes place in the 1960’s, in a northern India town, not far from the India-Pakistan border. This is a period between conflicts and everyone in the town of Hamara Nagar gets along together: Muslims, Hindus, Christians and atheists. The enemy is progress, and the village is galvanized when a dam construction is proposed that will put the little town under water. Janet Laird, affectionately called “Jana”, inherits from an uncle a rambling house that she knew from visits as a child. After having the resident monkeys chased out by the local bagpipe player, she sets up house with her ayah and several townspeople who show up, unasked, to serve her in one capacity or another. She quickly becomes a fixture in Hamara Nagar, earning the affection and respect of the locals with her command of Hindi and her compassion for their way of life.

The memory of the death of her two small daughters from smallpox is a sorrow that never leaves her but provides a needed, if tragic, darker contrast to the otherwise rosy tenor of the book, as does the memory of Janet’s commitment to stay and care for her husband, blinded by the same disease and whose religious zeal led to their daughters’ deaths. The reader is lulled into thinking this story will be a fairly light, one-dimensional ride until these revelations.

There are small gems throughout, from the sympathetic characters of all persuasions and the town tailor, Feroze Ali Khan’s, notebook of thoughts and reflections to the peaceful co-existence of all, personified by Jana Bibi’s parrot, Mr. Ganguly, who greets each person he encounters with the appropriate greeting, whether Hindu (Namaste-ji), Muslim (Salaam aliekum), or Christian (God bless you).

Even though the whole fortunetelling scheme is very silly and puts this reader off going further into the series, JANA BIBI’S EXCELLENT FORTUNES is a delightful story of a woman, her parrot and quirky neighbors vs. progress and bureaucracy. show less