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Independence

Written by: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Narrated by: Nimisha Sirohi
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Publisher's Summary

THREE SISTERS. THEIR UNBREAKABLE BOND. AND A NATION ABOUT TO BE BORN.

Here is a river...

Here is a village...

Here is a grand old mansion...

Here is the country that contains them all...

India. August, 1946. Everything is about to change.

Priya, Jamini and Deepa, Dr Nabakumar Ganguly's daughters, live in Ranipur, Bengal, safe from the rising turbulence in the country. When their father is killed on Direct Action Day, their world turns upside-down.

Priya, the youngest, intelligent and idealistic, is determined to follow in her father's footsteps and become a doctor, no matter how difficult. She is fortunate to have the support of zamindar Somnath Chowdhury, her father's best friend. Jamini, devout, dutiful and talented, helps her mother stitch kanthas to make ends meet. Hungering for affection even as she is resentful of her sisters, she nurses a secret desire. Beautiful Deepa, the eldest, all set to marry well, falls in love with Raza, Youth Leader at the Muslim League, and must face the consequences.

When India is partitioned, the sisters find themselves separated from one another, afraid of what will happen to not only themselves, but also each other. It is only then that they understand what it means to be independent, and the price one has to pay for it.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's powerful new novel is a moving story of loyalty and love, nationhood and sisterhood, set against India's independence movement, at once exhilarating and devastating.

--

'A spellbinding saga of the decolonization and partition of the Indian subcontinent, with a cast of vividly drawn, compelling characters.' AMITAV GHOSH

'A national movement unsettles a country. Only a powerful imagination can recreate how profoundly it changes three women's lives.' NAYANTARA SAHGAL

'I have long been a fan of Chitra Divakaruni's novels, but Independence is now my favorite.' LISA SEE

©2023 Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Independence

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  • Overall
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    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful storytelling

wonderful storytelling as expected from Divakaruni.. narration was also good but I wish a bengali speaking person would do the bangali lines. the mispronounciations were jarring to my bengali ears. overall 5 stars from me though!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Shockingly bad Bengali pronunciation.

The story is generally very well performed with each character assigned it’s specific intonation to flesh them out. But with a book that is set in Bengal and has sections that focuses on poetry and songs and names of places, the pronunciation is beyond bad. It distorts the language beyond recognition.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent storytelling

outstanding as always. wished it would never end. narration is also engaging and expressive. enjoyed every bit of it.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful Story but Narration Could be better

I loved the story but pronounciation of the narrator was very poor. Not just the Bengali phrases but words like "Hearse". I kept wondering what is hearsay here (Raza's death), and then realised it was hearse. For such a beautiful book, I expected perfect pitch and pronounciation.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Magnificent

Very engaging plot and a bit too realistic with almost no escapism. However I loved it. Good narration too.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Riveting

Once you start, it’s hard to pause. Compelling story telling. The writer’s style of telling the story from the perspective of different people reveals the in depth characterisation. The characters come to life with their oscillating emotions, very real and relatable.
The ending too in character: in sync with the theme of the novel. The story celebrates human life— death, birth, death, death, birth, and how people live even after they die. The backdrop is dismal but hope lives on through human grit and faith.

The voice does justice to the emotions but, it’s jarring to hear mispronounced Indian, specially, Bengali words. The authenticity so well weaved into the narrative by the writer is lost in the vocal. Yet, I heard it till the end because it’s unputdownable.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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very relatable and interesting and simple storytelling

simple and relatable narrative, with interesting Bengali inputs.
women centric and progressive ideas. feel good story of women power triumphs

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent story

I loved the way the lives of the sisters have been woven together.

So far I have enjoyed all of Chitra Banerjee’s books.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very good take on independence

The lives and the times - the trials and tribulations of the Independence period is captured through the tale. Was engaging and a good read.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Some pronunciation barring, the book is great

The story is powerful without being far fetched. Loved the intricacies of sisterly love, and love/friendship described in the book. But maybe the lines in Bengali could have been done by someone else. Or the pronunciation passed by someone who speaks the language first. it breaks the otherwise lovely narration for the book. very jarring. very.

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