Mrs. Varman reads like period drama with an Indian theme. The book opens with a whirlwind romance between American-born Julia (Mrs. Varman) and Indian-born Sachin. He falls madly in love with Julia, and they marry, but his family is unhappy about it. As the first two chapters unfold, they seem destined for each other until the loss of their first baby through miscarriage. That tragic incident changes the trajectory of their relationship. They become strangers living in the same house. By chapter 3, stories of the ugly underbelly of the Indian culture, including dysfunctional families, child trafficking, poverty, abuse, and even murder, replace the struggles of Mrs. Varman's marriage. These stories introduce new, complex characters, including an orphaned boy named Vijay, who struggles to survive.
As the chapters progressed, I thought the book to be an anthology with a theme of life in India amid various castes, and I wondered what ever happened to Mrs. Varman. I was happy when her storyline returned in chapter 10 as Julia and Sachin plan for a trip to India. Julia learns how to wear a saree and cook Indian food to impress her husband’s family in India as she prepares for her first trip out of the United States. Traveling away from the familiar makes her feel more dependent on Sachin. The more dependent she feels, the more she wants her relationship to work.
Upon arriving in India, Sachin’s aunt and grandmother welcome them, but as soon as Sachin is alone with his grandmother, she tells him she’d much rather have a grandchild than the gifts he brought for her. He can’t bring himself to tell her that Julia can have no children since the miscarriage. His distant relationship with Julia is palpable, but they blame it on their long journey when the aunt asks if something is wrong. While Granny tells Sachin she had higher expectations for his life partner, she is secretly happy to have Julia visit, but Julia feels emptiness even while around all these relatives. At this point in the story, the boy, Vijay, has grown into a young man looking for love, and the story begins to take a new direction with suspense, danger, and temptations.
The cultural details Sanjeeta Behera weaves into the backdrop of this story, like Granny wiping red tobacco spit from the side of her mouth and the common practice of licking fingers when enjoying good food, carry the reader to new experiences. Scents from rich spicy curries to the filth and noises of the streets are enlightening and engaging.
This story takes some unexpected twists and turns, and had me hooked to find out what Julia decides to do regarding her marriage and the love for which she longs. I recommend this book to people who enjoy dramas filled with interesting characters with complicated relationships and plenty of secrets. On the downside, the sesquipedalian vocabulary is somewhat off-putting. For instance, after the young boy, Vijay, is cheated from earnings promised him, “He became a victim of pecuniary dishonesty and hesitantly accorded deference to their barbarity and injustice by accommodating it within a shelter of his fortitude.” The story of Mrs. Varman, itself, I would give 4 stars, but due to the verbose writing style, I give it 3 stars.
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