Listening Now

When I picked this book (Listening Now) from the shelf, I just had the intention of reading more Indian authors after a brief introduction to Divakaruni's books; with the total idea of just picking up and discovering writers. Nobody had recommended her or prepared me. Oh! was I stunned. Anjana knows how to write a book in the truest sense of the action. Listening Now is the most intricately and beautifully written book and totally captivated me. You cannot put this book down. The story centers around a single parent and the women in her life. The story is narrated through these women's perspective of their life - childhood, motherhood and being a wife- and in relation to the main character. Superbly told. I could associate with this book and understand and empathize with the characters. It has the depth, flow and is very simply written and though the characters are familiar the narrative is amazingly unpredictable. This book has to read, savored and cherished. And the pleasure is going to be totally yours and the effort (if at all you want to call it that)totally worthwhile. With renewed appreciation and respect for women

Once started this book is hard to put down. It is a journey through the psychological terrain of five women, who tell us their way of looking at the world. You begin to see were their pain comes from and at some point their pain became my own. This book is so many things in one or one structure with many distinct facets. It is a love story in an Indian setting; meeting of north and south. It tells you how differently men and woman think and feel. Since all the narrators are only women, you get to know how clueless men are to their feelings and how they adjust. It is the story of Padma, her daughter, sister mother and friends. A single woman with a child and how she copes. The child who senses her mother's pain and suffers with her. The mother who can't disentangle herself from the man who deserted her. The Most gripping aspect of the book is the exquisite details of capturing the most delicate feelings of pain and pleasure. You feel the ecstacy and the heart rending pain. It is truely a pleasure to read such beautiful prose. It is book worth reading and rereading to get the essence of what the writer wants to convey.

Shanta is one character I emphathised with.Her realionship with her husband for eg.Her husband was such a lovelv human being,yet so insensitive to her.She loved her mother ,fought her battles,but then also her mother preffered her son.She fought with her brother over Padma.She was a do gooder but happiness was not hers.

I wonder why there hasn't been more "buzz" about this book. It's one of the best I've read in years. Why, too, is it out of print now??? This is her first novel, and I'd like to read many, many more. Take it out of the library to read. Then email the publisher.

It is an absolutely fabulous book. Anyone, who could bring out the finer details of life's hidden tragedies long forgotten, but making an impression in your life, has to be a fabulous writer. the story of the single person when told by different people simply cant be put down once you start reading.