Table of Contents
Haunting Jasmine is the kind of book that makes me remember all the reasons I love to read. Anjali Banerjee writes in luminous prose about the deepest secrets of a womans heart. With a freshness of voice and a playfulness of the imagination, she brings her quirky characters to life. The gorgeous and multilayered language illuminates a story that will haunt the reader long after the final page is turned.
Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling author
Jasmine, come home
I take a deep breath and drag my suitcase up the narrow steps to the back door, which is now the main entrance to the bookstore. A well-worn path leads around the house to the ornate front door facing the waterfront, recalling a bygone era when important guests arrived by sea.
As I push open the back door, soft voices float toward me. The words coalesce, then change their minds and drift away. Inside the foyer, Im submerged in dimness, save the faint orange glow from a Tiffany lamp. The heavy door slams behind me, shutting out the world The air hangs heavy with expectation.
Jasmine, youre finally here, the house seems to say
Further praise for Anjali Banerjee and her novels:
Fresh and highly entertaining. I loved every word.
Susan Elizabeth Phillips , New York Times bestselling author
A masala-scented Like Water for Chocolate .
San Francisco Chronicle
Delectable recounted with hilarity and warmth.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer
This book has a romantic, magical quality.
Booklist
Fascinating, insightful, and delightful. The descriptions shimmer and sparkle. I intend to rush out and buy a copy for every woman I know.
Jayne Ann Krentz, New York Times bestselling author
The authors hip-hot style combines breezy storytelling, wry humor, and just enough poignant sauce in a romantic comedy equal to Bend It Like Beckham .
The Seattle Times
A Bridget Joness Diary meets Monsoon Wedding -style escapade.
Publishers Weekly
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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Copyright 2011 by Anjali Banerjee
Readers Guide copyright 2011 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
All rights reserved.
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PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / February 2011
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Banerjee, Anjali.
Haunting Jasmine / Anjali Banerjee.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-101-47853-0
1. Young womenFiction. 2. Booksellers and booksellingFiction. 3. Islands
Fiction. 4. Puget Sound Region (Wash.)Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.A6355H38 2011
813.6dc22
2010023024
http://us.penguingroup.com
In memory of my friend Keith Curtiss
acknowledgments
I am deeply grateful to the following people: my agent, Kevan Lyon, for her support and wisdom, and her colleague Jill Marsal. My editor, Wendy McCurdy, for her brilliance. Her highly competent assistant, Katherine Pelz, and the talented people at Berkley who have worked diligently on behalf of this book: art director Annette Fiore, copywriter Jim Poling, managing editor Jessica McDonnell, and copyeditor Sheila Moody. The esteemed Leslie Gelbman, president and publisher of Berkley Books. My fabulous critique groupSusan Wiggs, Elsa Watson, Kate Breslin, Suzanne Selfors, Sheila Rabe, Carol Cassella. The amazing Michael Hauge, for helping me find the story. Nathan Burgoine, for generously sharing his experiences as a bookseller. Rebecca Guthrie and everyone at Bethel Avenue Book Company. Lyn Playle, for the tour of the Walker-Ames Mansion, on which Aunties Bookstore was loosely based. Stephanie Lile, for great talks while walking. The Brainstormers, including but not limited to: Gwynn Rogers, Pat Stricklin, Carol Caldwell, Carol Wissmann, Terrel Hoffman, Jan Symonds, Sandi Hill, Dee Marie, Theo Gustafson, Penny Percenti, Elizabeth Corcoran Murray, Soudabeh Pourarien, and all the Friday Teasters. Anita LaRae, for her insight. Susan Neal, for great ideas. Karen Brown, Kristin von Kreisler, Michael Donnelly, Sherill Leonardi, Casandra Firman, and Skip Morris, for perceptive reads of early chapters. Carol Ann Morris, for performing photo magic. Lois Faye Dyer, Rose Marie Harris, Julie Hughes, Renee Breaux. Claire Tomalins book Jane Austen: A Life for details about Jane Austen. Last but never least, my family: my parents, Randy, Daniela, my siblings, nieces and nephews; Mom and family in Texas. My cat companions, and my husband, Joseph, as always.
Chapter 1
I didnt see this turn of events coming, or going. My ex-husband, Rob, used his charm like a weapon, and ultimately he didnt care whose heart he brokeor whose life he ruined. Neither did he care whose bed he woke up in. My mother would say, Well, Jasmine, thats an American penis for you. You shouldve married a Bengali. Faithful, good, and true to his culture. Her words conjure an image of the royal Bengali penis decked out in a traditional churidar kurta , its head peeking from the gold-embroidered white silk kurta at our traditional Indian wedding. But my mother wont get her wishI wont marry again.
Now that the divorce is final, I need a break from L.A., from the errant ex-husband whom I once thought was perfect. Im alone on the ferry to Shelter Island, a green dot of rain-soaked darkness in the middle of Puget Sound. Out on the boats breezeway, the wind whips my hair, reminding me that Im still alive, that I can still feel the cold. Roberts number pops up on my cell phone screenthe green digits that I have come to loathe. I ignore the call and send him into the barren wasteland of Voice Mail. Let him deal with the real estate agent and the vultures descending on the condo. Ive made my temporary escape into solitude.
