The Secret Keeper of Jaipur: A novel from the bestselling author of The Henna Artist (The Jaipur Trilogy, 2)

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RADHA: Have you ever read a character that truly made you realize you weren’t a child anymore? I completely understood everything Radha was going through and her motivations, but I could see every step of her mistakes. Her character perfectly portrays what many of us go through in losing our innocence/naivete when facing the world. Hers is a painful story to read, but also healing in many ways. It is book one of a three book series which will jump in time 12 years and 18 years respectively and I cannot wait to continue the journey! Book two was just released on June 22, 2021 and is titled “The Secret Keeper of Jaipur”. This story flowed so well, and the way The Henna Artist is written makes it VERY easy to understand the story's timeline and how cultural influences shaped the characters. (Also - I’m reading a thriller right now about serial killers in the 70s and how WWII spawned an entirely new generation of evil.. the world is falling apart, my friends. Pray to your God(s) and ask for all our salvation.)

The cinema’s balcony collapses on its inaugural day, and several people die. Is there any darker secret behind this predicament of Malik and the cinema? How will Malik face this difficult situation? Alka Joshi answers these questions through this book. The bulk of the plot revolves around Malik and his new position in Jaipur. The Maharani Latika commissions the construction of a grand cinema, and he is present on opening night, granted the honor due to his apprenticeship with the palace architects. When the unthinkable happens and part of the structure collapses, blame lands where convenient, on those close to Malik. Sensing an injustice in progress, he seeks to uncover clues that point to those truly responsible. A secondary storyline concerns the relationships between the three main characters, as Malik and Nimmi fall in love and Lakshmi comes to realize that she must let the young man live his own life. This novel has a strong plot that authors do not commonly discuss. The women-centric theme discussing the lives of strong women is written in a manner that evokes curiosity. Despite the negatives, Alka Joshi still managed to write a good novel that many people will love to read. I love it when a book introduces me to something new and teaches me something. I had never given any thought to the people who create the elaborate henna drawings on the hands and feet of an Indian woman for ceremonial occasions. This book is set in 1950s India and introduced me to Lakshmi who was a henna artist. Lakshmi had been forced to marry when she was 15. Her mother in law was a healer and she taught Lakshmi about folk cures and the properties of various herbs. After Lakshmi left her husband she established herself as a henna artist for wealthy women. The job included much more than painting, she was also part therapist/part masseuse and she provided herbal remedies including one that caused abortions. She was an independent woman who managed to save enough money to build her own house, until her younger sister appeared on her doorstep and changed both of their lives. It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at theFacilities Officeof the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema.It’s just that I have a feeling this book is written for that white woman who finds India ‘exotic’ and swoons at its ‘spirituality.’ It’s not written for the Indian audience who knows that India is also the nation of 10,000 startups, sleek bustling offices, and more technology than you can dream of. Show me that book now coming from the US! But it won’t sell. We have to show India with its drains of sewage, the Maharanis and their glittering lifestyles, and the prostitution. No wonder the West laps it up. The prose is lyrical, and the Audible narration by Sneha Mathan was masterful-she even had to be the voice of a talking parakeet named Madho Singh. 🦜 Her protégé, Malik, has completed his private school education, and has fallen for the young widow named Nimmi, who sells them the best flowers from her stall at the Shimla Mall. He reluctantly leaves her and her two small children behind, when Lakshmi arranges for him to intern at the Jaipur Palace, whose latest project is a state of the Art Cinema.

This one went in a different direction than I expected but I really liked how it ended and the journey into this time in India. This book is steeped in Indian tradition putting you in India. Smelling the foods and visualizing the colors. I found it educated me on the Hindi culture and India’s caste system along with telling me a wonderful story that I will carry in my heart for years to come. It was irritating to read a character coming from a lineage of poets and writers talking about the whole women of Jaipur in such a judgemental and condescending manner. At 17 years of age, Lakshmi escaped an abusive marriage and fled with just her drawing ability and the healing skills she learned from her Saas (mother in law) and worked hard to become the most requested henna artist among the wealthy-keeping their secrets along with her own. Details: I could deeply visualize the graphic descriptions of the clothing and various settings, including Lakshmi's Healing Garden - many of the plants mentioned grow well in my own personal flower garden;

I don't want to say more because of spoilers, but I think it's fair to say that Radha - being a strong-willed hormonal adolescent getting her first taste of freedom - causes her share of trouble. I thought this book was pretty good. It does a great job portraying the nuances of social politics and the concept of saving face. I also liked how all of the characters, including the "bad" ones, were portrayed as complex people with good and bad sides to them. Lakshmi wasn't always likable but you could see how circumstances hardened her and made her willing to do whatever it took to survive. Radha was less likable, and I found her very frustrating towards the end of the book, but she was also a very young character and lived in a fantasy land where she was desperate to be loved, and I could see how the dissonance between her own life and what she wanted could cause problems. This book is set in the mid-1950s in Jaipur so it was also cool to see all the '50s pop-culture references and Western influences juxtaposed against a country recovering from the trauma of British colonization. In New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi’s intriguing new novel, henna artist Lakshmi arranges for her protégé, Malik, to intern at the Jaipur Palace inthis tale rich in character, atmosphere and lavish storytelling.