Oleander Girl: Book summary and reviews of Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Oleander Girl Summary

Beloved by critics and readers, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has been hailed by Junot Díaz as a "brilliant storyteller" and by People magazine as a "skilled cartographer of the heart." Now, Divakaruni returns with her most gripping novel yet.

Orphaned at birth, seventeen-year-old Korobi Roy has enjoyed a sheltered childhood with her adoring grandparents. But she is troubled by the silence that surrounds her parents' death and clings fiercely to her only inheritance from them: the love note she found in her mother's book of poetry. Korobi dreams of one day finding a love as powerful as her parents', and it seems her wish has come true when she meets the charming Rajat, the only son of a high-profile family.

But shortly after their engagement, a heart attack kills Korobi's grandfather, revealing serious financial problems and a devastating secret about Korobi's past. Shattered by this discovery and by her grandparents' betrayal, Korobi undertakes a courageous search across post-9/11 America to find her true identity. Her dramatic, often startling journey will, ultimately, thrust her into the most difficult decision of her life.

Oleander Girl Reviews

"Starred Review. From baneful secrets, poisonous misunderstandings and conflicts, and transcendent love, Divakaruni has forged another tender, wise, and resonant page-turner." - Booklist "Starred Review. Exploring the United States and India in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Divakaruni has crafted a beautiful, complex story in which caste, class, religion, and race are significant factors informing people's world views." - Library Journal

"Divakaruni is not at her best here, and has given us a read best suited for the beach or conversion into a daytime television show." - Publishers Weekly

"Like an Indian Maeve Binchy, Divakaruni offers an entertaining if lightweight comfort read." - Kirkus

"Oleander Girl is elegant and classic, but also vivid and immediate. Love and loss and secrets collide in this powerful story of the way we live now. There is poetry on these pages, but also the burning-on-both-ends urgency of a page turner. Gorgeous and exciting, this is a wonderful novel." - Tayari Jones bestselling author of The Silver Sparrow

"When you think of thrilling page turners, you don't usually think of fluid, graceful prose. But that's what you'll find in Oleander Girl...Chitra Divakaruni is such an elegant writer, one who makes the reader feel not only engaged and entertained, but a bit elevated, too. I've been a fan of Divakaruni's work for a long time; this book keeps me one." - Elizabeth Berg New York Times bestselling author of Tapestry of Fortunes

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Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Author Biography

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 13 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew and Japanese.

She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling...

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