ABOUT THIS BOOK

Set in the historic Indian city of Lucknow, rich in its classical musical and cultural traditions, this novel weaves in, exquisitely, the themes of spirituality and sensuousness, the divine and the carnal, decay and regeneration.

The backdrop is one of contemporary India, where this story plays out. The story is that of Sarika, a young Indian music prodigy. Through the unique lens of the music world, the story examines the relationships of guru and pupil, parent and child, husband and wife and, finally, the artist within her world.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

A native of India, Suruchi Mohan is a journalist who covered high-tech and business news for McGraw Hill and International Data Group publications through the nineties. Her nonfiction has appeared in San Jose Mercury News, Reader’s Digest, Sacred Fire, and numerous other publications. Divine Music is her first work of fiction.

Mohan lives in Northern California with her family.

REVIEWS

Reviews

REVIEWED IN 'Publishers Weekly' 11/16/09

Mohan's impressive debut explores the connections between spiritual and physical passion in a shifting Indian society, through the lives of two musically gifted young Indian women. Sarika and Swati follow their artistic muses to the local conservatory, where each succumbs to the passions of older men attracted by their talent. Swati, from a poor village, is ruined when her wealthy businessman admirer impregnates and then abandons her. Sarika, the daughter of a well-placed government official, receives private after-class instruction from Kirana, a renowned voice teacher, but falls prey to his seductive lessons on the sensuality of music, and ends up in the same predicament as classmate Swati. The contrasting fates of these similarly afflicted young women leads to a rich multi-generational portrait of a changing cultural and political landscape riddled with new opportunity as well as age-old opportunism.

— Joanne Wilkinson, BookList ONLINE

Reviews

REVIEWED IN 'Publishers Weekly' 11/16/09

Mohan's impressive debut explores the connections between spiritual and physical passion in a shifting Indian society, through the lives of two musically gifted young Indian women. Sarika and Swati follow their artistic muses to the local conservatory, where each succumbs to the passions of older men attracted by their talent. Swati, from a poor village, is ruined when her wealthy businessman admirer impregnates and then abandons her. Sarika, the daughter of a well-placed government official, receives private after-class instruction from Kirana, a renowned voice teacher, but falls prey to his seductive lessons on the sensuality of music, and ends up in the same predicament as classmate Swati. The contrasting fates of these similarly afflicted young women leads to a rich multi-generational portrait of a changing cultural and political landscape riddled with new opportunity as well as age-old opportunism.

— Publishers Weekly