Twelve years after Lakshmi leaves Jaipur to work at Dr. Kumar's clinic in Shimla, she is now happily married and has taken under her wing a young tribal widow, Nimmi, who is raising her two young children on her own. Gold smuggling is rampant in the nearby mountains and Nimmi's brother has fallen to its temptations. Afraid that her enterprising helper Malik, now a young man who has recently finished his education, will also be lured into this treacherous business, Lakshmi arranges for him to apprentice in Jaipur at the Palace. She is also concerned about the romantic attachment Malik has formed with Nimmi, as she doesn't approve.
Back in the Pink City where he was once a wily street urchin, Malik again encounters the wealthy Singhs, including Samir Singh's feckless son Ravi, who caused Lakshimi's younger sister Radha so much heartache. Malik's is assigned to help Ravi Singh build the new pubic cinema. But when the cinema balcony collapses on opening night, it signals trouble for Malik and for Lakshmi too. Malik is implicated in a ruthless scandal of Ravi's making that will ultimately threaten his livelihood, his reputation and the people he loves most.
Alka Joshi's stunning sequel to The Henna Artist is rich in both dialogue and character development. Her sweeping descriptions of food are worth savouring and as are the depictions of the landscape. Malik is this novel's main character. It is 1969 and he is no longer Lashmi's shadow—he is an educated young man who becomes entangled in a smuggling scheme while apprenticing in Jaipur.
Once again, Joshi showcases her gift of telling rich stories that transport her reader to a different cultural experience and time period, but with universal themes. Alive and well are class struggles, poverty, and corruption.
Although Lakshmi is not front and centre, readers will be delighted to read about her married life as well as her care of a new character—and love interest for Malik—a young widow, Nimmi. There are other cameos from the first book which hopefully will continue with the third book which is Radha’s story as a perfumer living in France confronted by the baby she gave up for adoption 18 years prior. (And there's also Miramax TV series starring Freida Pinto.)
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is beautiful, lush, and enchanting.
ALKA JOSHI was born in India and raised in the U.S. since the age of nine. She has a BA from Stanford University and an MFA from California College of Arts. At age 62, Joshi released her debut novel, The Henna Artist, which immediately became a NYT bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon Bookclub pick, was Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and is being developed for a TV series.
Joshi lives in California with her husband.
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