The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal

The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal

Vinita is a young woman in contemporary India and the captain of the college cricket team pays attention to her. For a very focused student, that is overwhelming and she simply has to make any adjustments in her life to enjoy his attention. They start off with innocent cups of coffee in a local coffee shop, but things turn more serious and intimate. Vinita is from a strict Indian family and she knows that her behavior isn’t “approved”, but she’s young and “in love”.

Soon Vinita must face the fact that she’s pregnant. That is hard enough,  she must tell her family but first she has to tell the father. His reaction is that he will pay for an abortion – that leaves her with no options. She has to tell her parents.  It goes as bad as she feared and her older brother is called home to help them deal with the “situation”. Vinita goes to live with her brother until the baby is born and her mother comes to be with her for the baby’s birth.

Vinita is insistent that she will keep her baby and raise it on her own – totally against her family’s wishes. She is very sick when she goes into labor and her body is too weak to get through a difficult delivery. So, the doctor, a friend of her brother’s, suggests a C-section. Eventually, she is too weak to argue. Hours later when she wakes, Vinita is told that her son didn’t survive. Imagine the guilt of a young mother who was too sick to delivery her baby, who made the decision to try to have the baby naturally and then she learns that he died.

Time passes and Vinita’s family eventually finds a marriage match for her and she moves to the United States to start a new life and a family with her husband.  Her life is happy and she loves her husband and her daughter. Things are good in her new life until an unexpected letter arrives – it says that her son is very sick and may not survive. Obviously she is confused – then she speaks to her brother who admits her son didn’t die all those years ago. As she tries to grasp the truth, she must face the fact that her husband and daughter don’t even know she was pregnant. How can she tell them that she lied to them?

That letter sets of a chain of unexpected and emotional events for Vinita, her husband, her daughter, her parents, her brother and sister in law. In addition, she is caught in the middle of an unexpected “turf war” in her home town.

If you like stories that tug on your heart strings, reveal the dynamics of family background and help you get inside the mind of a young innocent Indian woman making her way in the world – you will love The Unexpected Son. Author, Shobhan Bantwal, brings her rich personal history and vivid creativity and imagination to her stories which will give you insights into Indian culture and open the complicated lives of her characters. Each of her books provide a unique glimpse into Indian culture and tradition and they provide a journey that I highly recommend.

A Note From Shobhan – Information about my books, video trailers, contact, photos from India, reviews, contests, and recipes is available on my website: www.shobhanbantwal.com.  Enter a giveaway on my website during August for a FREE copy of The Unexpected Son.  You can also visit me on Facebook and MySpace. All my books can be purchased at any retail bookstore or online bookseller. For more information about The Unexpected Son virtual tour, visit http://bookpromotionservices.com/2010/07/02/unexpected-son-virtual-tour/

The Sari Shop Widow by Shobhan Bantwal

I love to read books that help me learn about other areas and other cultures. That is just one of the reasons why I really enjoy Shobhan Bantwal’s books. Another is because she’s a great storyteller.

Shobhan Bantwal shares many elements of the Indian culture – her first two books were set in modern day India, but this one is set in New Jersey. Something interesting that she does in this book is to show us the conflict and struggle for a young widow in the US with very traditional parents. They love one another and the family is close – they live together and run a business together, but certain things are expected of their daughter.  This struggle is illustrated very well and in a nice variety of ways throughout the book.

Anjali Kapadia is a widow who is still dealing with her husband’s death. She lives with her traditional Indian parents and her younger brothers. After her husband died, she came to live with her family and she went to work with them in a sari shop. She brings a distinct talent and flair to the business and the shop is turned into an upscale boutique in Little India. But, there’s a problem – the store is going broke and the business is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Things look very bleak, until Anjali’s father contact his rich brother, Jeevan, who offers to come to their aid. Jeevan definitely has the money to help – but he is known for being domineering and difficult. Anjali and her mother dread bringing him into the situation, but it doesn’t appear they have a choice. They are apprehensive about his visit and that gets worse when he shows up with an associate they didn’t expect. His name is Rishi Shah and he is Jeevan’s business associate and from London – he is also single, very handsome and mysterious.

The tension between Anjali and Rishi starts almost immediately and it does add plenty of problems. Anjali and her parents are told that Jeevan and Rishi plan to expand the store and completely remodel it. This seems like a bad idea to Anjali and her parents because debt is already a problem, why add more debt?

In addition to the disagreements over the future of the business, there is a definite attraction between Anjali and Rishi. They both choose to ignore this attraction, but Rishi begins to admit it to himself first. Anjali is much more resistant to the idea because she feels love let her down in the past.

How will Anjali face the business crisis, the business expansion, the debt that is being incurred and her growing attraction to Rishi? I could tell you – but then you miss the sites, sounds, smell and feel of The Sari Shop Widow and I don’t want to deprive you. So, I highly recommend this book and any Shobhan Bantwal book.  I rarely have time to read all the books that I receive — but I enjoyed this so much that I’m trying to find time to savor all the elements of The Sari Shop Widow. I’d love to hear your thoughts about any books by Shobhan Bantwal.

We are starting a virtual blog tour with Shobhan Bantwal on September 1 and it runs through the end of the month. Here is more information -

For a preview, see the book trailer at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9uRlbkxxes

I am giving away a grand prize of one Indian costume jewelry set to one winner and five signed copies of the book to other winners who sign up between Sept 1 and Sept 30, 2009 through my website’s “Contests” page at www.shobhanbantwal.com. Information on my book can also be found on my Facebook and MySpace pages. You can see the full schedule at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2009/07/sari-shop-widow-by-shobhan-bantwal.html

The Forbidden Daughter by Shobhan Bantwal

I thoroughly enjoyed Shobhan Bantwal’s first book, The Dowry Bride. It was well written and the glimpses into Indian culture were fascinating. Learning that paying or not paying a dowry could be a matter of life or death was shocking to me and she handled it very well in her book. So, I’ve been looking forward to reading her second book.

This weekend I took time to read The Forbidden Daughter and my wait was rewarded. The book is about female infanticide. That is the practice of killing female babies and unborn female babies. I’ve heard various reasons for female infanticide in India and that is one of the elements of this story. Are women less worthy or important than men? The characters have a variety of feelings about this question. Another element is the financial angle to performing abortions along with the social repercussions.

Isha Talik is drawn into this web of lies, deception and money when her obstetrician informs her and her husband that their unborn child is a girl. In an off handed comment, he says that he’s willing to perform an abortion if they want to be rid of this child. Isha and Nikhil vehemently insist they will have their child, but they realize Nikhil’s parents will want them to abort the child. The couple have one daughter and Isha knows her in laws treat her daughter Priya as less worthy than her male cousins. When the news is shared with the elder Taliks, they insist the child must be aborted.

This debate rages and is only interrupted late one evening when the family receives news that Nikhil was stabbed to death at his job. Isha, Priya and the in laws are all shaken by the news of Nikhil’s death. The news is especially devastating to his parents because Nikhil was their only son and he had no sons to carry on the family name. Life for Isha and Priya is tougher each day and after her father in law beats Priya, the young, pregnant widow walks out of the house – with almost no money and only some of her possessions.

Isha and Priya are taken in at the local convent and make their home in a small, bleak room and they wait for the birth of her daughter. The day after Diya is born, Isha is seen by the doctor who helps the convent. He was a student at the college Isha attended and he had a crush on her in school.

Doctor Harish Salvi becomes a very good friend and his affection for Isha and her children continues to grow over time. Isha is reunited with her sister in law Sheila. With Sheila and Dr Salvi, Isha finds the support she needs.

Over time things begin to look better for Isha and her family and her support network grows again. But, the story isn’t over and Isha must deal with a couple more concerns before the end. Isha and her closest confidantes realize who killed her husband and why. She has evidence of his wrong doing and the time stamp on the computer disc makes it very obvious, who is responsible for his murder. Will they go to the police? Will the murderer pay for his crime? Who else will have to pay for this man’s actions?

I don’t want to ruin the story for anyone, but I highly recommend this story. You will grow to admire, you will admire and cherish Dr Salvi and you will care what happens to Isha’s daughters. This book is a wonderful work from a talented author who share her knowledge of India with us.

Shobhan Bantwal is touring with Promo 101 Virtual Tours in October. Visit www.virtualblogtour.blogspot.com for more details.