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| Plot Summary of Desirable Daughters |
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"Tara Chatterjee, divorced from her wealthy entrepreneur husband is living in San Francisco with a hippie carpenter. She is one of three sisters from a wealthy Brahmin family from East Bengal.
The plot swings back and forth from the small village in East Bengal where her ancestors live and San Francisco. There's a strong contrast between Tara, who is very assimilated, and her two older sisters, both of whom have held on to their Indian traditions. Yet it is Tara who visits East Bengal in an attempt to learn about her ancestors - in particular a distant great or great-great aunt who was married to a tree and played a major role in the struggle for Indian independence.
In the San Francisco part of the story, Tara is approached by a young man who says he is the illegitimate son of her
oldest sister, who now lives in New Jersey. Her sister is extremely traditional - wears saris, eats only Indian food, etc. Tara gradually learns that her sister did, in fact, have an illegitimate child, but the question is whether the young man who has approached her is that son or a con man?
Though the suspense builds as we learn more and more about the young man, the mystery is secondary. The main focus is the pull of two cultures. Tara and her teenage son exemplify the Indian trying to meld with American culture. Her sisters - one in New Jersey and one in Bombay - hold onto traditional culture in the face of pressures to assimilate.
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David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Desirable Daughters |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- very sensitive (sigh)
Time/era of story
- present (2000-2010)
Inside culture (main char)
- Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
Other aspects:
- immigrant story
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- American Pacific Coast
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Woman's story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Indian Indian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 (an average amount)
City?
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Unusual Style:
- a lot of flashback and forwards
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Bharati Mukherjee Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Gordon
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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