Maureen's Reviews > The Henna Artist

This book is set in 1950's India. I learned so much from reading it. It is rich in culture and very compelling.
Lakshmi was a young girl married at 15 years old. She learns about herbs and healing from her mother in law. Her husband is very abusive to her. Lakshmi doesn't like being treated as someone's property.
She finds her way to leave her husband and travels to Jaipur. Here she becomes an henna artist. She has many rich and powerful clients and is very successful in her talent.
Lakshami's sister finds her after 13 years. Lakshami didn't even know that she had a sister. She learns how life had been deplorable for her parents and her sister. We learn how she must make adjustments to her world when her sister comes to stay.
I was transported to another world by reading this book. It is very well written and informative. It is a story about family, secrets, the caste system in India, and the mistreatment of women.
It is a must read, a very powerful novel.