Alka Joshi

Paris, 1974. Radha is now thirty-two and living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion—the treasure trove of scents. When her friend’s grandfather offered her a job at his parfumerie, she quickly discovered she had a talent—she could find the perfect fragrance for any customer who walked in the door. Now, ten years later, she’s working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her. Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra—women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her—upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage. The final chapter in Alka Joshi’s New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha’s budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.

Vivid and compelling in its portrait of one woman’s struggle for fulfillment in a society pivoting between the traditional and the modern, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own… Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow—a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At twenty, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema. Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a former street child, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it’s a lesson that will serve him as he untangles a web of lies. In New York Times bestselling author Alka Joshi’s intriguing new novel, henna artist Lakshmi arranges for her protégé, Malik, to intern at the Jaipur Palace in this tale rich in character, atmosphere, and lavish storytelling.

Alka Joshi abre las puertas a los aromas, las texturas y los ecos de un mundo sensual y fascinante en una novela que es también un homenaje a su madre y a las mujeres de la India.

From the New York Times bestselling author of THE HENNA ARTIST, this sweeping novel follows a young Anglo-Indian nurse who embarks on a journey from her home in Bombay, through Prague, Florence, Paris, and London, to uncover a mystery and prove her innocence after a famous painter dies in her care. When renouned painter Mira Novak arrives at Wadia hospital in Bombay after a miscarriage, she's expected to make a quick recovery, and Sona is excited to spend time with the worldly woman who shares her half-Indian identity, even if that's where their similarities end. Sona is enraptured by Mira's stories of her travels, and shocked by accounts of the many lovers she's left scattered through Europe. Over the course of a week, Mira befriends Sona, seeing in her something bigger than the small life she's living with her mother. Mira is released from the hospital just in time to attend a lavish engagement party where all of Bombay society. But the next day, Mira is readmitted to the hospital in worse condition than before, and when she dies under mysterious circumstances, Sona immediately falls under suspicion. Before leaving the hospital in disgrace, Sona is given a note Mira left for her, along with her four favorite paintings. But how could she have known to leave a note if she didn't know she was going to die? The note sends Sona on a mission to deliver three of the paintings—the first to Petra, Mira's childhood friend and first love in Prague; the second to her art dealer Josephine in Paris; the third to her first painting tutor, Paolo, with whom both Mira and her mother had affairs. As Sona uncovers Mira's history, she learns that the charming facade she'd come to know was only one part of a complicated and sometimes cruel woman. But can she discover what really happened to Mira and exonerate herself? Along the way, Sona also comes to terms with her own complex history and the English father who deserted her and her mother in India so many years ago. In the end, she'll discover that we are all made up of pieces, and only by seeing the world do we learn to see ourselves.

India, 1969. Han pasado doce años desde que Lakshmi, la artista de henna, llegó a los Himalayas. Jaipur es cosa del pasado y ahora se dedica a la medicina natural. Malik, su protegido, es un joven apuesto e instruido que ingresa en la Oficina de Instalaciones del Palacio Real de Jaipur, aunque eso signifique dejar atrás a Nimmi, una joven pastora. El muchacho no tarda en descubrir que nada ha cambiado en la Ciudad Púrpura: los favores y el dinero fluyen siempre en la dirección de los poderosos. Cuando el nuevo cine se derrumba la noche de su inauguración, Malik necesitará la ayuda de Lakshmi, la verdadera guardiana de los secretos de Jaipur, para descubrir quién es el responsable.

Laksimi, o fată de șaptesprezece ani, scapă dintr-o căsnicie cumplită și învață să se descurce singură în coloratul Jaipur al anilor ‘50. Ajunge o fenomenală artistă de tatuaje cu henna, căutată de toată lumea nu doar pentru desene, ci și pentru sfaturi și confesiuni. Deși poate păstra secretele aristocrației, știe că nu le poate dezvălui pe ale sale… Pe măsură ce succesul ei crește, Laksimi trebuie să fie atentă la invidia pe care o stârnește și la viața independentă pe care o duce. Mai ales că soțul părăsit e deja pe urmele ei și o găsește după mulți ani, având o aliată neașteptată: o soră mai mică, de existența căreia Laksimi nu avea habar. Brusc, tot eșafodajul atent construit al vieții ei e în pericol să se prăbușească. RECOMANDĂRI „Absolut captivantă, de la primul capitol, la ultima pagină.“ REESE WITHERSPOON „Convingătoare și emoționantă… O poveste despre cum se îmbină dorința de descoperire de sine cu nevoia de iubirea familiei.“ Publishers Weekly „Bogată în detalii, presărată cu gusturi și texturi exotice, Artista henna aruncă o privire indiscretă și fascinate în cultura indiană a anilor ‘50.“ Bookpage Dacă ți-au plăcut: Pachinko, de Min Jin Lee, Soția plantatorului de ceai sau Fiica negustorului de mătase, de Dinah Jefferies Roman aflat în curs de ecranizare ca serial Miramax, cu Freida Pinto în rolul principal.