I couldn't help kinda sorta feeling that this book was intentionally crafted to appeal to Sarah Waters fans. But my feeling could be attributed to the fact that I had Waters' 'The Little Stranger' next on my queue, and was impatient to start it.
The Sandalwood Tree isn't as good as Waters - but it's still an enjoyable book; I very much enjoyed the vivid depictions of rural India. However, I felt that the connection between the American woman in India in 1947 and the Victorian lady in the same location in the mid-1800's was a bit forced (the various discoveries of the earlier woman's letters &c became progressively less believable).
I also personally would have preferred more glimpses of events from a local's perspective, rather than only from the foreigners' - it would have made a nice contrast. The focus on the Americans' marital troubles got a bit Lifetime-y at times, and detracted from the more interesting (to me) social issues that were also brought up by the story.
(Oh, just a note - I love the cover. It looks like an ad for a Merchant Ivory movie... it's why I picked it up.)
The Sandalwood Tree isn't as good as Waters - but it's still an enjoyable book; I very much enjoyed the vivid depictions of rural India. However, I felt that the connection between the American woman in India in 1947 and the Victorian lady in the same location in the mid-1800's was a bit forced (the various discoveries of the earlier woman's letters &c became progressively less believable).
I also personally would have preferred more glimpses of events from a local's perspective, rather than only from the foreigners' - it would have made a nice contrast. The focus on the Americans' marital troubles got a bit Lifetime-y at times, and detracted from the more interesting (to me) social issues that were also brought up by the story.
(Oh, just a note - I love the cover. It looks like an ad for a Merchant Ivory movie... it's why I picked it up.)
I love books that take place in foreign lands and this one occurs in India, both in 1947 during partition and 1856-58 during the Sepoy Uprising. The two time periods are united by the occupants of the same bungalow and the journals which are hidden and then found. Yes, there are love stories, but this is not a romance. In fact, you might say it is a mystery within a social studies book written by someone whose writing earns her 5 stars from me.
