It tells the story of Jaya, a New York journalist who, in the wake of her third miscarriage, decides to travel to India and rekindle with her culture.
In the process, she comes to learn about the incredible story of her grandmother through the words of the old family servant, embarking us on a tale of hopeful love and tragic struggle during the British occupation of India.
Sejal Badani Brings us to India
Tragedy is a sadly inescapable aspect of existence, but unfortunately it strikes some far harder than others. There are entire philosophies, theories and schools of thought about mending the human mind and helping it recover from the worst of hardships and misfortunes.
While we've certainly made progress on this front in recent decades, it remains a topic largely clouded in mystery where we are still far from finding a one-size-fits-all approach.
Different people must often find their own ways of dealing with grief, and for some this means rekindling with their cultural roots. At least, this is the approach chosen by the main character in Sejal Badani's The Storyteller's Secret.
The opening introduces us to Jaya, a journalist in New York whose life has spiraled out of control in the wake of her third miscarriage. Her marriage and internal world are falling apart after years upon years of mental anguish, and so she decides to step away from the ruins of her life in America in favour of uncovering her family's past back in India.
As she becomes increasingly engrossed in the culture, she makes the acquaintance of Ravi, her grandmother's former servant and confidant.
The stories he has to tell her about her grandmother border on the extraordinary, revealing a seemingly forgotten life of love, struggle, tragedy, hope and resilience in the face of the British occupation.
As she learns more and more about her grandmother's path, Jaya begins to gain some new perspectives of her own, and she might yet come to learn even her life isn't all lost.
Intoxicating the Senses
I have to admit I wasn't exactly sold on this book reading through the first part of it, dealing with Jaya's life in New York and its eventual unravelling.
It wasn't bad by any means, as a matter of fact written quite proficiently, but it felt as if it might drag on and dwell too much on the tragedy. However, my worries were pretty soon assuaged as the plot moved us to India, which is where the story started being captivating.
Sejal Badani is certainly in a much better position than most other authors to describe India (for obvious reasons), and it translates into the written word flawlessly.
rom the very first time we lay eyes on the land we are bombarded with curious little bits of information and precise descriptions which take full advantage of the reader's senses.
I find authors often tend to neglect this aspect of description, focusing mostly on what is seen and heard, rather than what is also felt and smelled which can add a tremendous amount of value to any sort of scene.
We are essentially transported into Jaya's shoes and become immersed alongside her in this fascinating culture we constantly crave to learn more about.
The author has a great understanding on which information to prioritize in terms of describing the culture, ensuring it never feels like a dull history book, but rather like an actual trek through the country.
A Story of the Human Condition
Moving on to the story and the plot itself, as mentioned before it begins on a depressing enough note, but soon sets it aside for the wonder of discovering India.
Jaya makes for a compelling character, although it does feel as if she is more of a vessel for the reader to discover the story of her grandmother. While I am not personally very familiar with the history of the British occupation of India, I have no doubt the author has done all the research in the world for the precision with which she depicts the era.
She doesn't restrain herself from depicting the more unsightly parts of this history, which to be fair I believe is part of the point; we shouldn't forget our past, and we definitely should never forget our shameful past.
The grandmother's story becomes the main focus of the book and in my opinion is the most interesting part about it. We constantly crave to learn a little more about her, how she handled the injustices life threw in her direction, how she found hope and resilience when it was least expected.
While there isn't exactly any end-goal in this book (a murder to solve or a planet to save, for instance), it manages to do something very rare in my opinion, which is to retain my interest by the power of the characters and their stories alone.
Additionally, the parallels Jaya draws between her own travails and those of her grandmother also make for some interesting meditations on life, grief and recovery, without ever feeling preachy or imposing.
The Final Verdict
The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani is one of those rare books which manages to hit a home run in virtually every category imaginable.
It has compelling, thought-provoking and relatable characters, biographical stories which leave you wanting for more, and is also a big window into the cultures of both modern India and as it was during the British occupation.
If you enjoy character-driven novels which deal with the heavier themes in life, I believe you will simply fall in love with this book.
 | Sejal BadaniPersonal site Sejal Badani is a former attorney and currently a full-time author who made the Wall Street Journal bestsellers list and had the honour of being a finalist for both the Goodreads Fiction Award and the ABC/DISNEY Writing Fellowship. So far she has two published novels, Trail of Broken Wings and The Storyteller's Secret, both of of them becoming far more popular than ever anticipated. |
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