Product Description

Tilo, an immigrant from India, runs an Indian spice shop in Oakland, California. While she dispenses the classic ingredients for curries and kormas, she also helps her customers to gain a more precious commodity: whatever they most desire. For Tilo is a Mistress of Spices, a priestess of the secret, magical powers of spices. Through those who visit and revisit her shop - Ahuja's wife, caught in an unhappy, abusive marriage; Jagjit, the victim of racist attacks at school; the noisy bougainvillaea girls, rejecting the strict upbringing of their tradition-bound Indian parents; Haroun who drives a taxi and dreams the American dream - we get a glimpse into the life of the local Indian expatriate community. To each Tilo dispenses wisdom and the appropriate spice: coriander for sight; turmeric to erase wrinkles; cinnamon for finding friends; fenugreek to make a rejected wife desirable again; chillies for the cleansing of evil. But when a lonely American comes into the store, a troubled Tilo cannot find the right spice, for he arouses in her a forbidden desire, and following her own desires will destroy her magical powers. Compelling and lyrical, full of heady scents and with more than a touch of humour, this novel explores the clash between East and West even as it unveils the universal mysteries of the human heart.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106490 in Books
• Published on: 1998-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 317 pages

Review
'For ARRANGED MARRIAGE, 'As irresistible as the impulse which leads her characters to surface to maturity, raising their heads above the floods of silver ignorance", New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher
An exotic, magical novel by a young Indian immigrant to the US.

From the Back Cover
Tilo, an immigrant from India, runs a spice shop in Oakland, California. While she supplies the ingredients for curries and kormas, she also helps her customers to gain a more precious commodity: whatever they most desire. For Tilo is a Mistress of Spices, a priestess of the secret magical powers of spices.

Through those who visit and revisit her shop, she catches glimpses of the life of the local Indian expatriate community. To each, Tilo dispenses wisdom and the appropriate spice, for the restoration of sight, the cleansing of evil, the pain of rejection. But when a lonely American ventures into the store, a troubled Tilo cannot find the correct spice, for he arouses in her a forbidden desire - which if she follows will destroy her magical powers...

Customer Reviews

The best book I've ever read
This is a must read for anyone with a love of beauty. The main character is a woman of wisdom and passion. Tilos' realtionship with the mysterious spices she sells is inspired and enlighting. While working in her spice shop in America she tries to help each customer by suppling them with the exact spice that will help them find a way through what ever difficulties they face. Tilo does this by having been trained to listern to the wisdom of the spices that whisper to her each day.
The book is written in a deceptivly simple style that allows the author to draw you in and give all the characters shape and substance.

Reading this is a magical, sensual experience!
One of the most wonderful books I have ever read. The language is beautifully evocative. The story transports you into a magical fantasy world within a grim and gritty reality. This is a modern myth in the making. The author has created an oasis of sensual spices that you can practically smell and taste and touch. I literally got lost in this book, I was so immersed in its colour and creativity. Every time I get disillusioned with life, I escape into this warm, cosy haven of a book.

A recommended real magical read
Really, one of the best books i have ever read. Tells and learns you all about the spices, really intriguing, and so very well written. A very knowledgable and clever author, I look forward to reading her other books.
One can almost smell the spices! A real magical read. Highly recommended.
W Edwards, Riyadh.