Janeite Reinventions, with Indian Flavors

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors blends themes from Jane Austen, with delicious Indian food and family loyalty. When brain surgeon Trisha Raje is hangry after a stressful day, she’s, uh, less than polite to the chef catering a party at her parents’ house. Chef DJ Caine tries to ignore this spoiled, rich client, but they keep crossing paths. DJ is catering Trisha’s brother’s campaign fundraisers, and his sister is Trisha’s newest patient.

The best Jane Austen retellings can stand alone, and this would definitely work as a novel where the male lead just happens to be named Darcy. The story follows the same basic highs and lows of the original, with similar themes of sisterly loyalty, but it’s not a scene-by-scene retelling. Some of the characters map nicely (Trisha’s brother-in-law Neel is definitely a good-natured, Bingley type), without being a one-to-one.

Julia Wickham’s main goal is to manipulate into money, just like how in the original P&P, Wickham’s main goal is to manipulate into money.  But Julia does something that is so over-the-top, so far beyond the poor student taking her rich roommate for all she can get, that it almost seemed like it belonged in another novel. It definitely makes her seem like a ruthless, dangerous villain, even though for most of the novel, Trisha’s too embarrassed to tell DJ what Julia has done. 

A warm retelling of the classic personalities clashing, with modern Indian elements.

Recipe for Persuasion

Recipe for Persuasion, by Sonali Dev, returns to the Raje family from Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors, this time in a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion with cousin Ashna as Anne.

I enjoyed reading this, but I didn’t actually like this one as much as I’d expected. I think it’s because Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors was such an amazing book, where I highlighted something brilliant every couple pages, so I was somewhat disappointed to find Recipe for Persuasion was just a nice Austen-inspired romance. This was closer to The Bollywood Bride, both dramatic romances, with Indian-American families and true love. Worth a read, but not the OMG you gotta get this now feeling I had about Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors.

Still, the book has the same complex characters and sensory details I enjoyed in the first one. The author isn’t afraid to show her heroines in less-that-ideal situations, creating women who screw up and are still loved by their family and friends. There was a lot more drama, and more about the Rajes’ background which added depth to Ashna, a supporting character in the first novel. You could see how one generation affected the next, and how the special friendships within the family kept everyone going.  But the drama unfolded into more and more scenes where the entire plot would resolve instantly if anyone talked honestly to anyone else, instead of shutting off and storming out.

This is another book to make you hungry. Ashna and her old love, footballer Rico, are paired on a cooking show, and their assignments are these gorgeous Brazilian / Indian fusion dishes (when they’re not staring at each other in lust and/or anger). The details about scent and texture just made the food even more tempting. There are other sensory details enriching the book (Ashna’s hair, for example), but let’s be honest, I love a good story about delicious food.

If you liked the mix of Jane Austen and reality shows found in Recipe for Persuasion, check out Curtis Sittenfeld’s Eligible, too.  For more Austen-inspired fiction in general, you could try The Other Bennet Sister, Pride and Prejudice and Passports or any of these Jane Austen reimaginings.

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