The Henna Artist

The Henna Artist is a captivating story about a businesswoman in 1950s India. Our heroine, Lakshmi Shastra, is a thirty-year-old henna artist who lives in the pink city of Jaipur. She has left her husband because he frequently beat her and she has since built up a nice business drawing her original henna designs on the wealthy women of Jaipur. She has become the confidante of many of the ladies and must tread carefully in order to hide her own secret that she left her husband. One day her husband Hari shows up with a dirty young girl wearing rags. Hari wants money from Lakshmi for bringing her younger sister to her. Lakshmi did not know that her mother had another child after Lakshmi married and left her parent's home. However, she gives Hari some money and takes the girl in. 

I read several reviews of the book before writing mine and was surprised that many focused on abortion. Some of them gave a poor review because abortion was part of the story. I didn't even remember this part of the book as I began to compose my summary of the book. It was not central to the plot. Lakshmi uses herbs to heal people from whatever ails them. It is a skill she learned from her mother. Part of her herbal remedies includes a herbal drink that will cause a spontaneous abortion.  She also had a concoction that aided conception but other reviewers focused on abortion. In 1955 India when the story takes place it would not have been unusual for a pregnant woman to seek out someone with these skills. I think it is realistic to have a character perform this service for her community. It does not offend me that it happened. It is history.

That said, the novel has plenty of historical detail. The author lavishly describes the clothing, food, and atmosphere of India.  The reader learns what it feels like to ride in a rickshaw, visit the noisy street markets, have an arranged marriage, as well as seeing how the division of the upper castes and lower castes affects the daily lives of the characters. I particularly loved reading about the bright colors of the saris that the women wore. The artistry of Lakshmi's henna designs was vividly illustrated, another aspect of the novel I relished.

I loved this novel. I can highly recommend it but if you do not want to read about an abortion provider, you will want to skip this one. 5 out of 5 stars.