The Henna Artist

“If I had learned anything from them, it was that only a fool lives in water and remains an enemy of the crocodile.”

Lakshmi and Radha are sisters, one older and a well-established henna artist in Jaipur, the other much younger and in need of a home after their parents passed away. Big city Lakshmi takes country girl Radha under her wing, but the two of them are stubborn and clash more than they act as sisters. Radha stumbles her way into rich family drama, and the two have to overcome differences in upbringing and strong personalities to make peace between them.

I had such high hopes for this book in the first half! The detail is rich, the characters interesting, and the idea of following a henna painter around the rich families of Jaipur was super intriguing. Lakshmi had built quite a following amongst the elite of Jaipur, and I was interested in reading about family drama or caste problems or something of that nature. The author delivered in spades initially!

Where it ended up losing me a bit was the focus on Radha and (SPOILERS HERE) getting pregnant and the emphasis on baby drama in the last half. I thought the story of the sisters was a great one, I just wish there had been another way to insert drama between them than the way chosen by the author. I've got nothing against it, I just can't relate.

Still, the detail and writing style were both fantastic, and it was a fun read regardless.