A Sister's Promise (Daughters of India) Paperback – June 30, 2015

I am not a writer and can't express myself nearly as well as the other reviewers, never the less I do wish to say a few things about A Sister's Promise. I am like one of the other reviewers in that I just want to read a story. I don't usually like a lot of flowery, description and this book is replete with it. Normally, it is a distraction for me and I often try to skip over all the adjectives to get to the story. However, in this book it's not possible to skip the flowery language because every sentence saturates you with color, fragrance, and emotion. At the same time,, you don't have to skip anything because the language flows beautifully as you are gently sucked into the lives of this family. Their story is one of love, betrayal, secrets, cultural taboos, and ultimately forgiveness. There are two surprises at the end of the story that were not surprising at all as I had already figured out what was going to happen. Still, I have to say I did enjoy the journey.

I have loved all of her books, and this newest one really gives us a lot to think about. The author always creates such a rich picture of the characters and locations that she portrays, drawing us into the stories at every twist. She is always so careful to bring out the family dynamics and creates a picture of both love and turmoil. This story is mainly about two sisters, who are very different, from when they were extremely close to when an incident tore the family apart.We follow all of them as their lives and their values and circumstances change.The author has a way of creating wonderful images for us through her descriptions, whether it is a scene from a run down village or the smell of food , or that of fear or despair.I love how she brings the story together. This was a real page turner for me.

The questions Amazon asks prior to my postings are not as good as I would like them to be. with that said let me give you my review. I HIGHLY recommend this book. It started a little slow while I got to know the people. The beginning of the book was introducing the characters in the book. before I got too far I realized I could not put it down. I sat up until late at night to finish it. It had some twists and surprises which added to my interest. I told my friends, great read. As the title suggest you know it is about family. It is interesting getting involved in their family dynamics. Plus I learned a lot about India. Much of it was very enlightening. I am sure you will enjoy it as much as I have..

I started this book late this morning, and just finished it - (stopping throughout the day to do some things I had to do, resenting the fact that I couldn't just sit and read it all day!!) It was a wonderful read - a heartwarming story - and a great reminder of how important it is to keep our priorities straight! Some of the reviewers complained about the descriptive writing style: I wouldn't let that stop one from buying the book! There were some times that I found myself skimming sentences here and there feeling that the words got in the way of the story - but at other times, the descriptive phrases helped pull me in! All in all, this was one of the best books I've read this year, and I just downloaded a couple more from the author - am looking forward to seeing more of her work!

One of my infrequent 5 star reviews for this beautifully written story about two east Indian sisters who after years of angry separation must come together to save the life of one of their children. The story is rich with culture and colorful descriptions of the life of poor families in India. The sisters swore to love each other best for life but a when the both fall in love with the same boy their stark differences shape the outcome of the two failed romances. The story is told in flashbacks from two perspectives with some parts revealed through letters. The stories are flawlessly interwoven and the reader experiences empathy for both sisters as the story progresses. The descriptions of the educational systems of India and the efforts of village families to secure education, justice, gender equality and resources are inspiring.

A Sister's Promise was a beautifully spun story with unexpected twists and turns. The writing itself grabbed the reader right from the beginning, however, as a fast reader, after a while, I realized the author is obsessed with the colour yellow--be it yellow or a form thereof, as in honey , amber, sunlight, turmeric, yellow ad infinitum, as well as every color of the rainbow. What I realized half way through was that just about every sentence was a metaphor. This became annoying, and with the relentless referral to colours, my interest Lin the book started to wane, but the storyline remained intriguing throughout.

Renita D'Silva so beautifully captures the essences of India in her textured descriptions of life in India. The intensity of the food, the spices, the scents and smells, the closeness of the people, the culture...the raw visceral vibrance of life are beautifully captured in this touching tale of the lives of two sisters. Though some of the story is too detailed in some places than necessary, it does not detract from the telling overall. Ms D'Silva's writing makes me miss the wonderful sensory overload of India - and I cannot wait to return.

I enjoyed reading this Bloomberg much . I liked learning about the villages in India. This was a real page turner and I couldn't put the book down. I recommend this book to others.

This is the second book by this author, the first being A Daughters 's Courage, which I loved. This book is equally as good as the first and soon draws you into the story. I could not put it down . It is the story of two sisters Sharda and Puja and starts with a call from Sharda in India to her estranged sister Puja in the U.K., asking her to come to India urgently as her daughter Kushi has been run down by a car and urgently needs. Kidney otherwise she will die. Puja has a son Raj , and both Raj and Kushi have no idea of each other and that their mother has a sister. The two sisters have been estranged for almost two decades. The story unravels for both Raj and Kushi. This is a wonderful book and I learnt so much about Indian unturned and food etc and kept looking it up on Google to see what the food or clothes looked like. I mentioned to a friend of mine who originat s from Sri Lanka, that I have found this wonderful Indian author and immediately she said that will be Renita DeSilva . She said she is famous for her books. You will not be disappointed by rpbuying this book or any of the others, they draw you in like a web. Wonderful, thank you Renita I loved it.

I had been saving this book as a reward to myself for making my own deadline. I knew that having this on my Kindle would inspire me and I was not wrong. Within hours of meeting my deadline I was reading the first page.This is the second book I have read by this author and much as I loved The Stolen Girl I loved this one just a smidge more. The quality of the writing is excellent and for me has a dreamlike quality. I am embraced from the very first line as the prose wraps itself around me like a warm duvet on a December night. This book explores the complicated relationship that exists between sisters. There is love, hurt, betrayal, sacrifice and a bond that should not be broken.The unfolding of the story is told by both sisters, Sharda and Puja as circumstances bring them back together after many years apart. One of my favourite parts of this book is the progression of a relationship between Puja and her son, Raj as they make the journey to India.The story blends beautifully with the descriptions of cooking and I particularly enjoyed the revealing of the two sisters personalities through school reports.I could talk for hours about how much I loved this book and the reasons why but if you have not read a Renita D'Silva book you are missing out on a truly gifted writer and an emotionally uplifting journey.

This is the second novel I have read by Renita D'Silva and so I had a smile on my face even as I started... This author's voice has a mesmeric quality for me and once again I was transported by her prose to contrast England and India as the story expertly weaves together the lives of very different and engaging characters - each scene achieving a very strong sense of place. Themes of separation and identity loom large in Renita D'Silva's writing and she handles these beautifully here. I am especially fond of books that cherish the importance of cooking - the sounds and the scents of the kitchen, re-stirring childhood memories - and so I was delighted to find this celebrated once more with all the warmth and spice of India. I don't want to give too much away but I particularly enjoyed the belated bonding between mother and son on the plane journey and later in the story. Very touching. My only warning is this - find a quiet and private space to enjoy this book because the writing is so lovely, you may (like me) wish to read passages out loud.

I found all the Indian names very confusing as some of them were so similar.This together with the different generations made this book difficult to follow.i enjoyed reading about the way Indian families pick spouses for their daughters and the adamant way they think they are correct,disregarding love ties,and I also learned quite a bit about Indian cookery.The only saving grace this story had for me was the blood tie giving a second chance of health after kidney donation A story of blood being thicker than water after the sadness of rejection.

A fantastic read. I have never read anything by this author but will be reading her other work and would definitely recommend to others. Very moving and loved the descriptions of the spices and smells etc. Having travelled round India several years ago, and experienced the people and vilages and aromas etc, I found this book was very accurate and really bought the characters to life. I have to say that I shed tears on quite a few occasions though.