The Mistress Of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

 

Tilo is the mistress of spices.  She has lived many lives in many places.  She has been a young woman in a family in India, a pirate queen, an acolyte on the Island of Spices.  Now she lives in Oakland, California, where she has come to provide the wisdom of spices to those who believe who are living there.  She inhabits the body of an old, gnarled woman and is forbidden to leave the store where she sells her spices and makes her potions.

But Tilo finds herself pushing on the limits she is given.  Although it is forbidden, she finds herself getting close to certain ones of her customers, trying to improve their lives through her advice along with her spices.  She even leaves the shop to try to help certain customers.

Then Raven appears.  He is an American but has come to her shop.  He flirts with her, an old woman, and says he sees through her skin to her heart.  Tilo cannot help but wonder what it would be like to experience love with a man although she knows she cannot do that and continue as the mistress of spices.  What will she choose?

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni was born in India but came to the United States to continue her education.  She has written numerous novels.  This book was nominated for the Woman's Prize in Fiction and was made into a movie.  Tilo is an example of the immigrant experience, wondering if she should continue in her old ways or adopt new ones in the new country she has come to.  Should she take a chance on love or is that forbidden to her?  This book is recommended for readers of diverse cultures and for literary fiction readers.