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A review by mnboyer
Jasmine: 30th Anniversary Edition by Bharati Mukherjee
3.0
I was assigned this book for a Ph.D. level course on Travel Narratives taught at the University of Arizona. I was quite excited for this book, as it is praised as being one of the "best" novels about immigration to have come from an Indian author. In academia, there is a lot of talk about how wonderful and life-changing this book is. But after reading it, twice, I have to say: Kind of average.
The story is about a young woman named Jyoti. Jyoti grows up in India and is eventually married, and living a happy life with a young husband that she loves. However, a tragic attack widows Joyoti and she decides that she will fulfill her husband's dream of going to America for school. She enters America illegally, and her journey as an immigrant is one of bleakness. When she arrives in America, she starts calling herself Jasmine. She eventually starts working for a family with one child as a live-in-nanny. As it turns out, she falls in love with the husband, and when the couple separates it seems like Jasmine can once again be happy. Instead, she flees to Iowa, where she ends up marrying a man named Bud. The couple adopts a Vietnamese boy named Du and Jasmine, now going by the name Jane, ends up pregnant with Bud's child. Again, more bleakness --and she realizes she loved Taylor (her former employer) all along. At the end of the novel, she gets to decide if she wants to stay with Bud or flee to California with Taylor and his daughter.
Overall, this is a good book about immigration, identity, and how hard it is for "outsiders" to fully engage with American culture. There are several scenes within the novel that are wonderful in expressing the turmoil female immigrants face--specifically in terms of sexual assault. But all of the scenes that present this material are in the front half of the book. Even though the novel goes back and forth between three stories (the three different times in her life), the first half of the book is still far more engaging than the second half. For me, the last half of the book seemed to drag on, and I actually ended up deducting a star for this.
I think there are several genres that this book stands out in: Indian literature, immigration studies, stories about identity, etc. But that doesn't mean that this book should be over-praised just because it is a breakout Indian novel. There is still a lot that is lacking for me to give it more than 3 stars. For example, I'm not really sure how strong a heroine Jasmine actually is. She seems to run from her troubles, and never seems to want to settle anywhere--in fact, even by the conclusion of the book I'm still unsure if she has finally decided what she wants her life in America to look like. Again, the second half of the novel also drags on a bit, and while I was somewhat interested in the Iowan farmer's problems that are brought up in the second part of the novel, this sub-plot also seems a bit unnecessary.
Is it a good book? Absolutely. But I don't think that it needs all of the hype that it has been given. There are certainly (to date) some other books that deal with issues of identity, immigration, assimilation, etc., that have clearer story lines (though not Indian literature). Did I enjoy reading it? I loved the first half, but the second half was just okay. Is this something that you may get assigned in class? Yes. But that doesn't mean that everyone is going to fall in love with this book. As much as I wanted to love this book, I set it down just feeling kind of okay with it.
The story is about a young woman named Jyoti. Jyoti grows up in India and is eventually married, and living a happy life with a young husband that she loves. However, a tragic attack widows Joyoti and she decides that she will fulfill her husband's dream of going to America for school. She enters America illegally, and her journey as an immigrant is one of bleakness. When she arrives in America, she starts calling herself Jasmine. She eventually starts working for a family with one child as a live-in-nanny. As it turns out, she falls in love with the husband, and when the couple separates it seems like Jasmine can once again be happy. Instead, she flees to Iowa, where she ends up marrying a man named Bud. The couple adopts a Vietnamese boy named Du and Jasmine, now going by the name Jane, ends up pregnant with Bud's child. Again, more bleakness --and she realizes she loved Taylor (her former employer) all along. At the end of the novel, she gets to decide if she wants to stay with Bud or flee to California with Taylor and his daughter.
Overall, this is a good book about immigration, identity, and how hard it is for "outsiders" to fully engage with American culture. There are several scenes within the novel that are wonderful in expressing the turmoil female immigrants face--specifically in terms of sexual assault. But all of the scenes that present this material are in the front half of the book. Even though the novel goes back and forth between three stories (the three different times in her life), the first half of the book is still far more engaging than the second half. For me, the last half of the book seemed to drag on, and I actually ended up deducting a star for this.
I think there are several genres that this book stands out in: Indian literature, immigration studies, stories about identity, etc. But that doesn't mean that this book should be over-praised just because it is a breakout Indian novel. There is still a lot that is lacking for me to give it more than 3 stars. For example, I'm not really sure how strong a heroine Jasmine actually is. She seems to run from her troubles, and never seems to want to settle anywhere--in fact, even by the conclusion of the book I'm still unsure if she has finally decided what she wants her life in America to look like. Again, the second half of the novel also drags on a bit, and while I was somewhat interested in the Iowan farmer's problems that are brought up in the second part of the novel, this sub-plot also seems a bit unnecessary.
Is it a good book? Absolutely. But I don't think that it needs all of the hype that it has been given. There are certainly (to date) some other books that deal with issues of identity, immigration, assimilation, etc., that have clearer story lines (though not Indian literature). Did I enjoy reading it? I loved the first half, but the second half was just okay. Is this something that you may get assigned in class? Yes. But that doesn't mean that everyone is going to fall in love with this book. As much as I wanted to love this book, I set it down just feeling kind of okay with it.