This event is online.
Join us for an event with Alka Joshi, your new favorite novelist. Reading during this time period can be challenging... but the exquisite story we're about to share is guaranteed to sweep you away to another time and place.
We know you'll love Alka's debut, The Henna Artist, as much as we do. Beautiful and compellingly readable, this novel effortlessly evokes post-Raj 1950s Jaipur, all while completely enmeshing you in the conflicts and politics that drive the courageous protagonist Lakshmi Shastri. Against all odds, and after fleeing an arranged marriage to an abusive older man, the teenaged Lakshmi carves out a living for herself as a henna artist, friend, and confidante to wealthy, upper-caste women within the grand Pink City. Then, as a grown woman several years into this new life, an exciting twist suddenly threatens to unravel all that Lakshmi has built.
In conversation with our own award-winning in house journalist, Angie Coiro, this is one literary conversation you do not want to miss.
More than just a romantic work of historical fiction, The Henna Artist is based off Alka’s late mother’s life— but this story serves as a reimagining of what life might have been like if Alka’s mother hadn’t been in an arranged marriage at 18, with three children by 21. Instead, the novel recreates her life as if she had been able to pursue the independence and education that she never enjoyed in real life... the independence and education that Alka's mother advocated for her.
Captivating and smart, this is the perfect read for your digital book group— a novel that will transport you completely each time it is opened.
Registration for this event is open, with the additional options of making a tax-deductible donation to Kepler's Literary Foundation, or supporting Kepler's Books with a (non-tax-deductible) book purchase. Donations will go toward Kepler’s Literary Foundation programs online, in local schools and throughout our community.
**Registration will close one hour before the event; please reserve your spot early to guarantee access, as registrations are limited.**