Queen of Dreams: Mothers, daughters, and dreams

Queen of Dreams by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It's been years since I read a book by Divakaruni, but if I recall correctly, I loved Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart.

Divakaruni is a masterful writer, but for some reason this book did not touch me like her other books. I had a difficult time sympathizing with the main character. This might have been intentional and is the natural result when someone grows up feeling that she is lacking love and commitment from her mother. I found myself drawn more to the present story than the dream journals...but even then, my mind wandered at times. I suspect it would appeal more to people who are highly interested in dreams.

She writes about what it felt like to be a person of color after 9/11...Indians and Pakistanis were thrown together in the same racist mishmash as people of Middle Eastern ancestry. One disturbing scene paints a very upsetting picture of American racism and "patriotism" after 9/11.

Divakaruni unwraps layer after layer of her mother's mystery and also her main character's story, but it was not completely satisfying for me in the end.

Still, a good read and worth a look.



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