Before We Visit The Goddess | Letter Narrative - Book Review

Author – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

(Originally written on Dec 26th 2017)

How interesting would it be if you got to know a person’s complete life only through a letter that they addressed to you? How saddening would it be if you got to know that the person who sent you the letter is your own dead grandmom whom you had never interacted with during her living years.

This novel is the story of Sabitri, Bela, Tara; women of three generations who share the grandmother-mother-daughter relation. Through the narrative you learn the trio sharing the genes of independent thinking, rebellious living, complicated relationships and restructuring themselves as elements that run common in them. And yet as you read along, their stories are so different that you are left engrossed in each of their lives parts of which you can relate to.  

Sabitri, daughter of Durga is the daughter of a poor village priest whose mother prepares the most delicious sweets in the city of Kolkata. She yearns to study but considering the family situation it seems like a distant dream. However, the lady of a rich family comes as an angel in disguise who is willing to sponsor her education and even letting her stay at her sprawling residence. Will the angel stay an angel, or will things go awry? Is it good to have high hopes for yourself or should you always be aware of your limits? Is falling in love in your hands or is it involuntary? Is love known to spoil all things nice or does it actually give you a better life? And, lastly can there be anything more beautiful than building your biggest desire brick by brick?

Bela, daughter of Sabitri, raised in a rich household is the center of attention of her parents. One innocent question asked in her childhood changes the whole trajectory of her life. In her early youth, she discontinues her studies and elopes with her boyfriend, a student political party activist who goes to US as a refugee. In the shores abroad, the reality she faces is entirely the opposite of the great aspirations she holds in her heart. Not really qualified she starts out as a help in a local day care, a job that gives her no satisfaction or joy. Adding to her existing misery her life takes ugly twists and turns turning majestic dreams into dreary nightmares. Is there something called loving rationally or is it an irrational emotion always? Is blindly trusting someone a wise decision or the most stupid one? Is it acceptable to manipulate a person for larger good or does it mean breaking someone’s faith? Is a marriage made in heaven and lived on earth or is it made on earth and lived heavenly? Is it selfish to have personal ambitions in a family setting or is it a necessity for your own sane survival? And, lastly can there be anything more beautiful than boldly reconstructing your life at the age of 50?

Tara, daughter of Bela, is an American-born, totally disconnected from her Indian roots. Just some months into her college she drops out of it after hearing about her parents’ divorce. She sets out to start her own new life with no baggage from the past. She does petty jobs quickly shifting from one to another with her kleptomaniac behavior hugely responsible for this. Boyfriend issues, abortion hassles, addiction to drugs her life’s in a total mess. Thanks to one encounter with a stranger who enters as a fatherly figure everything changes for the better. Is it likely that education makes us broad minded or does it only help to scout good jobs? Is it possible to feel deeply connected with someone you have hardly known or is it just a figment of imagination? Is making the right choices in life the result of the brain at work or the heart? And lastly, can there be anything more beautiful than forgiveness?

This book on love and loss, fantasies and realities, familiarity and disconnects, destruction and construction makes for a good read and contains the perfect recipe to keep you hooked as the story unfolds in different parts.