The Vine of Desire is a satisfying sequel that picks up where Sister of My Heart left off and is easily followed by readers who have not read the first book. Divakaruni uses sensual imagery and simple declarative sentences to describe Anju and Sudha Chatterjee ’s story which resumes in northern California, after one year apart, during the early 1990s.

Anju is struggling with marriage and her husband Sunil. Sudha and her newborn daughter Dayita are reunited with Anju in America but impending conflict turns the axis of the story and both women must reclaim their strength. In the aftermath of Anju’s miscarriage, Sunil voices his attraction to Sudha. Anju slowly recovers by returning to college and writing letters to her dead father, unaware of the intensity of Sunil’s desire. It is only through her first attempts at writing that she begins to discover herself.

These writings eventually unfurl into fledgling stories. Some make up innovative breaks of third person narrative that fluidly push the story forward. Divakaruni incorporates entire chapters of epistles in the voice of other characters, tape recordings of Sunil’s introspective, poetic thoughts and reinterpretations of conversations from Sudha’s new love interest and friend Lalit.

Sudha, who has left her husband Ashok behind indefinitely, wrestles with her newfound independence. She does not want to have to depend on men. Far too often have left women like her helpless and destitute. She wants to tackle life on her own terms and raise her daughter without having to answer to anyone`s rules.

Both Anju and Sudha are determined to break away from the traditions and social stigmas that prevented them both from fulfilling their lives. As the novel progresses, Divakaruni always manages to connect Anju and Sudha to a larger narrative much in the way people try to connect disparate ideas in their own lives:

Somewhere machines are cutting down thousand-year-old trees. Somewhere juries are beginning to decide they don’t have enough evidence to declare a man guilty of murdering his wife. An old man stretches his legs to catch a buttery slab of sunlight. A surgeon cuts open an abdomen and finds it so filled with cancer cells there’s nothing he can do but stitch it up again. It is the year of stubbornness, Bosnia rejecting a call for cease-fire, India test-firing a missile powerful enough to reach China. On the radio, the announcer informs us that a sixty-year old woman—the oldest on record –has successfully given birth. That democracy in Haiti has been restored without firing a single shot. Which is more important? Which is less?

These departures into larger story provide readers even more context to absorb scenes rich with color, scent, sorrow and growth. The Vine of Desire is yet another well-crafted work created by Divakaruni to appreciate and savor.

Tara Betts teaches writing in Chicago, where she organizes and co-hosts the open mic/performance space Women OutLoud. She has written for Mosaic magazine, www.africana.com, XXL, The Source and Black Radio Exclusive.