- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC; 1st Printing edition (2 July 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0747578842
- ISBN-13: 978-0747578840
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 535,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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More About the Author
Product Description
Library Journal
'Pradhan imbues the narrative with such honesty and real emotion
that the novel is difficult to put down. Highly recommended'
that the novel is difficult to put down. Highly recommended'
Review
'Half cookbook, half tale of Eastern promise, this is the story of the Hindi-Bindi Club ... a tale of mum knows best' Company Best Page-turners for Summer 'The age-old intergenerational struggle between mothers and daughters gets a curried twist in Pradhan's debut, in which the subcontinent meets the modern West' Publishers Weekly 'Pradhan imbues the narrative with such honesty and real emotion that the novel is difficult to put down. Highly recommended' Library Journal 'Pradhan's vibrant tale bears witness to the eternal struggle between mothers and daughters ... Pradhan lovingly has passed along her history, recipes and culture to hungry, grateful readers' BookReporter.com
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The Hindi-Bindi Club is an evocative story of three young first-generation Indian-American women who enjoy the freedom of American life but are also bound by their Indian heritage. This is a novel about identity, assimilation, cultural and family values. The author, Monica Pradhan is skillfully blending ancient Indian traditions of pronouncements from horoscopes, arranged marriages and family rituals with the modern American mythology that you make your own life and your own future.
Busy professionals, Kiran, Preity and Rani go home for the holidays to their mothers, whom they lovingly refer to as the Hindi-Bindi Club. The mothers emigrated to the United States decades before and have formed a close bond. They are the keepers of old Indian traditions, rituals and customs. The daughters are exploring both their Indian and American identity. Now, both mothers and daughters are looking forward to a season of good food, laughter, arguments and gossip but they all leave with so much more: reconciliation between generations and also between Indian traditions and the American dream.
Kiran, Preity and Rani, who are childhood friends, break out of old Indian conventions in order to fulfil their ambitions and create the life they envision for themselves. However, when the crunch comes where else would they go for comfort and advice than back to their mothers? These young women live a hyphenated life, being Indian-American, exploring who they really are. They are successful by American standards but are considered a success by their Indian-born mothers? This question forms the core of the story and the resolutions to problems, which emerge in great numbers between the older and the younger generation of women, leave the protagonists and us, the readers with the fuzzy warm feeling of mutual understanding and respect between mothers and daughters.
I enjoyed immersing myself in the rich cultural context of Indian-American life and the warm spirituality of Indian women this debut novel offers. Fantastic recipes spice up the story, making The Hindi-Bindi Club the prefect book for body, mind and spirit. This is a well-written, intelligent, witty and funny, insightful and memorable novel.
Monica Pradhan is a charismatic young writer I will definitely watch in the future. I can hardly wait to read her sequel The Bangle Bazaar to The Hindi-Bindi Club, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.
Busy professionals, Kiran, Preity and Rani go home for the holidays to their mothers, whom they lovingly refer to as the Hindi-Bindi Club. The mothers emigrated to the United States decades before and have formed a close bond. They are the keepers of old Indian traditions, rituals and customs. The daughters are exploring both their Indian and American identity. Now, both mothers and daughters are looking forward to a season of good food, laughter, arguments and gossip but they all leave with so much more: reconciliation between generations and also between Indian traditions and the American dream.
Kiran, Preity and Rani, who are childhood friends, break out of old Indian conventions in order to fulfil their ambitions and create the life they envision for themselves. However, when the crunch comes where else would they go for comfort and advice than back to their mothers? These young women live a hyphenated life, being Indian-American, exploring who they really are. They are successful by American standards but are considered a success by their Indian-born mothers? This question forms the core of the story and the resolutions to problems, which emerge in great numbers between the older and the younger generation of women, leave the protagonists and us, the readers with the fuzzy warm feeling of mutual understanding and respect between mothers and daughters.
I enjoyed immersing myself in the rich cultural context of Indian-American life and the warm spirituality of Indian women this debut novel offers. Fantastic recipes spice up the story, making The Hindi-Bindi Club the prefect book for body, mind and spirit. This is a well-written, intelligent, witty and funny, insightful and memorable novel.
Monica Pradhan is a charismatic young writer I will definitely watch in the future. I can hardly wait to read her sequel The Bangle Bazaar to The Hindi-Bindi Club, which is scheduled for release in the summer of 2009.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a glorious book. It's a witty, funny, engaging and romantic but also deftly addresses some quite weighty issues of immigration, assimilation and multi-culturalism as well as personal pain and loss.
Its effortless prose and perfectly judged dialogue sweeps you in to the lives of six women: three mothers, the Hindi Bindi Club, who left India in the 50s and 60s to begin new lives with their husbands in the States and their daughters all born in the USA. They tell their stories in alternating chapters, the daughters facing problems in the present and the mothers dealing with their cultural heritage as wives and mothers in America.
Kiran is a doctor and estranged from her family since her "unsuitable" marriage to a musician, she is now divorced and feels her biological clock ticking so she returns home for the holidays to discuss an unexpected way of finding a husband. Meenal, her mother, has had to confront a life changing experience since they last were together. Preity was always the goody two shoes but her mother Saroj's conspicuous displays of wealth conceal her memories of the horrors of Partition and an extraordinary secret. Rani is a successful artist who has just had her first show but has lost her inspiration and her successful, academic mother Uma carries with her the hurt of being told never to return to India after her marriage to a Westerner. Kiran's search for a husband begins a journey which takes them places they never thought they would go.
These six people and their stories are the building blocks of a wonderful personal story which will take you across India and through its history and its diversity of languages, cultures and religions - and recipes!
Its effortless prose and perfectly judged dialogue sweeps you in to the lives of six women: three mothers, the Hindi Bindi Club, who left India in the 50s and 60s to begin new lives with their husbands in the States and their daughters all born in the USA. They tell their stories in alternating chapters, the daughters facing problems in the present and the mothers dealing with their cultural heritage as wives and mothers in America.
Kiran is a doctor and estranged from her family since her "unsuitable" marriage to a musician, she is now divorced and feels her biological clock ticking so she returns home for the holidays to discuss an unexpected way of finding a husband. Meenal, her mother, has had to confront a life changing experience since they last were together. Preity was always the goody two shoes but her mother Saroj's conspicuous displays of wealth conceal her memories of the horrors of Partition and an extraordinary secret. Rani is a successful artist who has just had her first show but has lost her inspiration and her successful, academic mother Uma carries with her the hurt of being told never to return to India after her marriage to a Westerner. Kiran's search for a husband begins a journey which takes them places they never thought they would go.
These six people and their stories are the building blocks of a wonderful personal story which will take you across India and through its history and its diversity of languages, cultures and religions - and recipes!
Format:Paperback
Having just returned from a holiday in Kerala- my first visit to India- I fancied a light hearted but informative read about Indian Culture. This book proved to be an ideal choice. I enjoyed it so much that I bought it for my friend with whom we went to stay.-- She loves cooking and I thought she would enjoy using the recipes included in it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
hindi bindi
Great book, easy read. Really makes you feel part of the story. Brilliant receipes too
Published on 1 Nov 2009 by Ms. A. O. Watson
Have a taste of Indian
Having lived on three continents (so far!), I really enjoy books about different cultures and lifestyles. Read more
Published on 29 Nov 2007 by Yvonne Eve Walus
Utterly forgettable
I can't remember the last time I bought a book and found it to be so boring that I was unable to finish it. Read more
Published on 2 Nov 2007 by A. Boyd
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