Review: The Henna Artist

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Author Alka Joshi's debut novel The Henna Artist follows the life of Lakshmi, a young woman who runs away from an abusive marriage and makes a life for herself in Jaipur as a henna artist and herbalist. Providing beautiful henna designs for wealthy ladies, and contraceptive sachets for ladies seeking to avoid or abort early pregnancy, Lakshmi has been saving for years to buy her own modest home. Her plans to further ensconce herself in the upper echelons of society are going along well until a her husband and a girl claiming to be her younger sister show up on her doorstep. Her husband is, of course, looking for a handout, but the girl, Radha, has nowhere to go, as their parents, for she truly is Lakshmi's sister, have died. Unfortunately, her arrival marks a disastrous turning point in Lakshmi's life and career in Jaipur.

A novel about sisterhood, found family, the ability to change, and life's demand that we sometimes must rework our plans because of family, The Henna Artist is a moving novel about the arduous double standards and ethical conundrums of Indian life in the 1950's. This is a rich and beautifully told story.

The audiobook, narrated by the sonorous Sneha Mathan, is marvelous.


I received a paper review copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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