Emeralds Included by Betsy Woodman

Reviewed by Jeanne

When Janet Laird’s missionary husband died, she wanted to stay in India, the land she loved. She made a living by teaching the children of an Indian royal, but that job was coming to an end as the children grew older.  Then there was a stroke of luck:  Jana inherited a house from her grandfather, a rather decrepit dwelling in a small hill town called Hamara Nagar, a place populated by a variety of folk who live in relative harmony despite their different backgrounds and religions.  She and Mary, her devoted housekeeper, move in and are soon joined by other “helpers,” including Tilku, a street child who runs errands for the household, an elderly Gurkha who acts as a gate keeper and plays bagpipes, and a sweeper. Jana also has a number of friends among the villagers, from a newspaper reporter and his wife, a shopkeeper, and a philosophical tailor. 

The third book in the Jana Bibi series finds the household in a tizzy, awaiting the arrival of Janet’s son and his fiancée. This means the old Jolly House has to be spruced up, and given its state of disrepair, that’s a lot of sprucing.  Jana is determined there will be hot water and reliable electricity, not to mention all the other furnishings.  Devoted housekeeper Mary is thrilled at the idea that Jack baba is returning, and resolves to fix all his favorite dishes.  Lal is busy composing tunes on his bagpipes in honor of the occasion.  The expenses are mounting, and Jana is going to have to make some difficult decisions about the future.  She also can’t help but worry that her future daughter in law might not be charmed by life in Hamara Nagar—or worse yet, be appalled by a mother-in-law who tells fortunes with the help of a parrot.

I became fascinated by books set in foreign lands when I was still in grade school.  In high school, I worked my way through all the Pearl S. Buck books the library had. Perhaps not so coincidentally, this is roughly the same time period that Betsy Woodman was growing up in India and seeing the real county with youthful, energetic eyes.  The result is a warm portrait of a place populated by folks I would love to know.  While the books are sweet, they aren’t saccharine; there are problems, but people are willing to try to deal with them. I think that’s one of the things I love about the books: the sense of hope that, no matter the differences, people can find a reasonable way to work things out.  Humor, nostalgia, endearingly eccentric characters, and an exotic location make these books a treat! 

While you don’t have to read the series strictly  in order, you would know more about the characters and situations if you started with the first book, Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes.

Love Potion Number 10 by Betsy Woodman

When I was in grade school—never mind how long ago that was—I was fascinated by books set in other countries.  I was especially drawn to tales of life in the East: China, Japan, Korea, and India. I read all the books I could get my hands on by authors like Pearl S. Buck and Elizabeth Foreman Lewis.  (The latter caused some confusion.  I was reading along the shelf and the next book was something called Babbitt.   I kept waiting to for a character to head East but none ever did and I finally gave up on it.) I even  ventured into the non-fiction section to try I Married a Korean, Fifth Chinese Daughter, and—soberingly—John Hersey’s Hiroshima.

Anyway, several months ago I picked up Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes.  Set in India in 1961, it tells the story of Janet Laird, a Scotswoman by blood but Indian by preference, who has just found out she has inherited some property in the village of Hamara Nagar.  The full review is here, but suffice it to say that I enjoyed the book very much indeed and was very pleased to hear that another was in the works.

That sequel is Love Potion Number 10, and while the reviews I saw were lukewarm, I found the book to be almost as delightful as the first. We pick up nearly where the previous book left off.  Janet, called Jana Bibi by the locals, is making ends meet with her fortune-telling business, aided by the parrot Mr. Ganguly who selects tarot cards for customers.  While the house could do with some repairs both major and minor, things seem to be going well.  The recent publicity has generated interest in the village as a tourist destination, which is bringing in more outsiders—some of whom seem intent on changing just the things that give the place its charm.  To Jana’s surprise, some of these newcomers are old friends of hers from Bombay.  They’re sophisticated and wealthy, and are anxious to reconnect with Jana.  Since she has many happy memories of their time together, she’s only too pleased that they’re coming.  Their presence causes her to question whether she’s satisfied with her life as it is or if she should consider some changes—and perhaps even a new love.  Meanwhile, the local apothecary has whipped up a concoction he’s calling Love Potion #10 after the current popular song, and swears that it will cure almost anything, not to mention  bring love and happiness.  Also, the boy Tilku is apprenticed to the newspaper publisher, someone seems interested in parrot-napping Mr. Ganguly, and a devoted married couple is experiencing some family problems.

As with the first book, it was the warmth of the characters that drew me in.  The books have a large and colorful cast but not so much as to be too confusing.  Eccentricities abound but aren’t treated as silly.  Woodman spent some of her formative years in India, and it’s obvious that she  knows the local terrain and customs.  The descriptions are lovely, and evoke that particular era as well as the place. The books are sweet without being treacly.  I kept finding myself smiling at this or that, and becoming quite involved in the lives of the various characters.   At the end, I was left wanting more, which is a sign of a good book.  I’ll be looking forward to another visit with Jana Bibi and friends. I did miss hearing more about some of the characters from the first book, but I have no doubt they’ll turn up again.

 If it’s fast-paced adventure you crave, this is definitely NOT the book for you.  If, on the other hand, you like warm and amusing slice of life stories with likeable characters in an unusual setting, this is definitely a book you should try.  I would suggest that the books be read in order for a better appreciation of some events.

Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman

Reviewed by Jeanne

Janet Laird was a child of India.  Never mind that she was born to Scottish parents, or that there’s a family castle in Scotland:  India is her home. Since her husband’s death, she’s made a good living teaching violin to the children of a nawab, a nobleman; but the children are going away to school in Switzerland, and soon she’ll be out of a job.  Her son loves living the damp and drafty castle, and is anxious for her to come there to live. Much though she loves her son, the idea isn’t appealing.  Then she receives a letter from an attorney, informing her that she had inherited some property from her grandfather:  specifically, the Jolly Grant House, near Ramachandran’s Treasure Emporium and the Royal Tailors, in the small rural town Hamara Nagar.

Janet is thrilled.  She packs up her faithful housekeeper, Mary, and her parrot, Mr. Ganguly, and makes her way to the town. At first glance, things seem less than promising.  The house has been taken over by a gang of monkeys, and will need extensive repairs.  Janet also discovers the local police chief is a bully.  But the town is vibrant, warm, and friendly, and soon she is happily settled with a make-shift family.  Then word comes that the government intends to build a dam right where the town is located.  Is there any chance they can save Hamar Nagar? 

The book’s intriguing title comes from part of the community plan to save the town.  They decide Hamara Nagar must become a tourist destination.  Janet opens a shop as “Jana Bibi,” a fortune-teller.  Mr. Ganguly acts as her assistant.

I found Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes to be utterly charming, delightful and entrancing.  I wanted to know what happened, but I also didn’t want the book to end. While the town and its inhabitants are idealized, author Betsy Woodman does let us know that there are some darker elements.  She just doesn’t let that aspect overtake the story.  This book reminds me not only of Alexander McCall Smith, but of the earlier Miss Read books:  mostly slices of life in a community where we know and like most of the characters, even the ones who frustrate us at times.  There’s Mr. Ramachandran, the effervescent owner of the Treasure Emporium; Feroze Ali Khan, the tailor who is grooming his nephew to take over the business;  Tilku, a street child, who more or less adopts Janet; Lal Bahadur Pun, a bagpipe wielding Gurkha; and most of all, Mr. Ganguly, a wise bird with a lot to say. Most of all, India herself is a character: a place of wonder, color, and beauty where cultures blend and mostly harmonize.  This is an author who knows and loves the place about which she writes.

After the story itself, Woodman includes a handy glossary of words and a wonderful section about the genesis of the book.  Woodman lived in India with her family for ten years, between the ages of six and sixteen.  She describes a bit of what life was like, which answered some of the questions I had about how authentic certain aspects might be.  She also commented on the origin of certain plot elements. 

If you love books set in exotic locales that have memorable and delightful characters, then by all means give Jana Bibi a try.  The author’s website indicates that this is the first in a series, so I’m hoping I’ll be reading more of Jana Bibi and her friends.

Nevermore's Favorite Fiction: Buster the Dog, Jana Bibi, The Bookseller & more

Buster’s Diaries:  The True Story of a Dog and his Man by Roy Hattersley is pretty much as the title describes it.  Buster is a Staffordshire terrier/ German Shepherd mix who is adopted from a shelter by The Man. The setting is London in the 1990s, and is based on Hattersley’s real dog that ran afoul of Queen Elizabeth II by when he was accused of killing a goose in St. James Park.  The “memoir” is charming, clever, and sometimes quite shrewd in its observations. Our reviewer said it made for an enjoyable couple of hours.

Jana Bibi’s Excellent Fortunes by Betsy Woodman is a delightful tale of a British woman who has lived most of her life in India.  Her son is anxious for her to come to his home in Scotland, a prospect she finds rather depressing but her teaching job will be ending soon and she will need to find a place to go.  News of an inheritance in a rural area of India sends her in search of a new home.  Delightful characters and the 1960s Indian setting made this a very appealing book, recommended by our reviewer.

Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham follows the stories of three friends in a small Texas town. Trey Don and John are in sixth grade when orphan Cathy Ann Benson moves to town. The three of them form a strong bond, but as they mature, emotions become more complicated.  Then in high school, a prank goes awry and their lives spin off into very different directions.  This is a glorious soap opera, full of drama and plot twists.

Hugo Marston also hailed from Texas, but the former FBI profiler is now head of security for the American Embassy in Paris.  While buying two first editions from his friend Max, the elderly bookseller is kidnapped by at gunpoint.  Hugo finds the French police less than proactive, so he calls in an old friend from the CIA to help solve the case.  The Bookseller  is Mark Pryor’s debut, but is supposed to be the first in a series, and our reviewer found it promising.

Blaze of Glory is the latest Civil War novel by Jeff Shaara. Set during the Battle of Shiloh, Shaara has the knack of bringing history to life by letting the reader glimpse the lives of the officers and enlisted men alike.  This is the first of a new trilogy.  Shaara’s first novel was Gods and Generals, which was a sort of sequel to his father Michael Shaara’s classic Killer Angels.