Chitra has always gotten rave reviews and these are, without a doubt, the best of her career. There is also a starred PW review and interview on the way and below you will find the early raves from booksellers.

"Divakaruni's socially and psychologically precise fiction always possesses a mystical dimension, whether overtly, as in The Mistress of Spices, or poetically, as in The Vine of Desire, a beguiling and inspiriting trait she shares with Alice Hoffman, albiet from a Hindu perspective. Now Divakaruni's signature fusion of the realistic and the cosmic achieves a new intensity in her most riveting and politically searing novel to date." - Booklist, starred review

"Poet and novelist Divakaruni stirs up a tasty curry that's half-mystery,half fantasy in a clever tale of a young woman trying to sort out the mystery of her mother's death-and life. Richly textured and artfully told through the varied perspecitves of believable characters."

--Kirkus Reviews

There are more than a half-million copies in print of Chitra Divakaruni's highly acclaimed, award-winning novels. In her luminous, signature style she captures women caught between worlds and unravels the mysteries of love and identity. The Seattle Times praised Chitra as "a brilliant storyteller;" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution lauded her as "an expressive interpreter of the immigrant experience;" and The San Diego Union-Tribune called her work "dazzling and powerful." In her latest book, QUEEN OF DREAMS (Doubleday; On-Sale: September 14, 2004), Chitra spins a spellbinding tale of mother and daughter, of past and present, and of dream time and waking time.

All her life Rakhi struggled to unearth stories of her mother's life in India and the magical dreamworld she had the power to inhabit, stories her mother kept hidden for reasons Rakhi failed to comprehend. It is not until after her mother's mysterious death that she is given a glimpse into this other world. Through the dream journals, and only with her father's help, Rakhi is able to gain access to her mother's past and the sacrifices she made to hold on to her gift and protect her family. In the shadows of September 11, Rakhi and her friends find themselves face to face with brutal attackers, adding new and threatening complexities to the heritage that she has tried so hard to understand. This changing world forces Rakhi to unveil the hidden truths about her own life, the mistakes she made, and her unresolved misunderstandings.

Chitra's award-winning novel, The Mistress of Spices, is being produced by Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha, and former Miss World and popular Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is lined up to star in the film.
QUEEN OF DREAMS is Chitra Divakaruni at her best-illuminating the immigrant experience, the complexities of family, love, and the sensual and spiritual lives of women trying to find their way in a fractured world.