Bøger af Alka Joshi

New York Times bestseller: Hennakunstneren åbner døren til en verden, der på én og samme tid er farvestrålende og fascinerende, ubarmhjertig og grum. Syttenårige Lakshmi flygter alene fra sin landsby og et arrangeret og voldeligt ægteskab til 1950'ernes pulserende Jaipur. Her bliver hun den mest efterspurgte hennakunstner blandt byens velhavende kvinder, der deler deres hemmeligheder med hende, men Lakshmis egne hemmeligheder holder hun for sig selv. Lakshmir bliver kendt for sine originale designs og kloge råd og må træde varsomt for at undgå den sladder, der følger med succesen, og som kan ødelægge hendes ry og levebrød.Lakshmis drøm om et frit og uafhængigt liv brister imidlertid en dag, da hendes tidligere mand dukker op med en livlig ung pige på slæb, og Lakshmi må kæmpe for at beholde det liv, hun så omhyggeligt har opbygget. Til læsere af Ildefonso Falcones' romaner eller Shilpi Somaya Gowdas Den hemmelige datter. ALKA JOSHI er født i Indien, men flyttede til USA med sin familie som niårig. Hun har drevet sit eget reklame- og pr-bureau i tredive år, inden hun som 62-årig debuterede som forfatter i 2020. Bogen blev en øjeblikkelig bestseller i USA, og rettighederne er solgt til femogtyve lande. Miramax laver desuden en tv-serie med Freida Pinto i hovedrollen. Hennakunstneren er første afsluttede og uafhængige bind i en trilogi. De to næste bind udkommer i 2023 og 2024 på dansk.

For fans of Balli Kaur Jaswal's Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and Thrity Umrigar's The Space Between Us, Alka Josh's The Henna Artist by is lushly-rendered, emotional book club fiction set in post-Raj 1950s Jaipur about a young woman struggling to shape her own destiny in a world pivoting between the traditional and the modern.

Paris, 1974. Radha bor nu i Frankrig med sin mand, Pierre, og deres to døtre. Hun sørger stadig over den lille søn, hun gav væk for mange år siden, da hun selv blot var et stort barn. Men hun elsker at være mor for sine døtre og har endelig fundet sin lidenskab: fremstilling af dufte. Hun er heldig at få arbejde hos en mesterparfumør, der lærer hende at designe helt nye dufte. Blot ville hun ønske, at Pierre kunne forstå den glæde, arbejdet giver hende – en glæde, hun ikke vil opgive for hans og familiens skyld. En vigtig arbejdsopgave sender Radha til Indien, hvor hun får hjælp fra sin søster, Lakshmi, og kurtisanerne fra Agra – kvinder, der bruger duftens kraft til at forføre og pirre. Hun befinder sig netop på tærsklen til sit store gennembrud som parfumemager, da hun opdager, at den søn, hun aldrig har fortalt sin mand om, er på vej til Paris for at finde hende.

"A stunning portrait of a woman blossoming into her full power…this is Alka Joshi's best book yet!" -Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond EyeFrom the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in Alka Joshi's New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha's budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she's finally found her passion-the treasure trove of scents.She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can't give up this thing that drives her.Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra-women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She's on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her-upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.The Jaipur TrilogyBook 1: The Henna ArtistBook 2: The Secret Keeper of JaipurBook 3: The Perfumist of Paris

"A stunning portrait of a woman blossoming into her full power…this is Alka Joshi's best book yet!" -Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond EyeFrom the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist, the final chapter in Alka Joshi's New York Times bestselling Jaipur trilogy takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha's budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she's finally found her passion-the treasure trove of scents.She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can't give up this thing that drives her.Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra-women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She's on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her-upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.The Jaipur TrilogyBook 1: The Henna ArtistBook 2: The Secret Keeper of JaipurBook 3: The Perfumist of Paris

Det er foråret 1969, og den tidligere hennakunstner Lakshmi er nu leder af naturmedicinklinikken i den lille by Shimla i Himalayabjergene. Hendes unge ven Malik har afsluttet sin uddannelse og har netop mødt en ung kvinde ved navn Nimmi, da han rejser tilbage til Jaipur for at gå i lære i det kongelige palads, hvor man er ved at etablere en førsteklasses biograf. Malik opdager hurtigt, at der ikke er meget, som har ændret sig i hans barndoms lyserøde by. Magt og penge bevæger sig stadig frit blandt den velhavende klasse, og goder strømmer fra paladset, men kun så længe visse hemmeligheder forbliver begravet. Da biografens altan på tragisk vis kollapser på åbningsaftenen, placeres skylden, hvor det er belejligt. Malik har dog mistanke om, at der er tale om en mere alvorlig forbrydelse, og sætter sig for at afsløre sandheden. Som tidligere gadebarn har han lært altid at holde lav profil – en lektie, der vil komme ham til gode, når han skal forsøge at løse et net af løgne. En uafhængig efterfølger til Hennakunstneren, der udkom på dansk foråret 2022. Den springer ca. 10 år frem i tiden i forhold til afslutningen på Hennakunstneren. Trilogiens sidste bind forventes at udkomme på dansk i 2024.

From the author of Reese's Book Club Pick The Henna Artist comes the final chapter in Alka Joshi's trilogy that takes readers to 1970s Paris, where Radha's budding career as a perfumer must compete with the demands of her family and the secrets of her past.Paris, 1974. Radha is now living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she's finally found her passion--the treasure trove of scents.She has an exciting and challenging position working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can't give up this thing that drives her.Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India, where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra--women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease and entice. She's on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her--upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.The Jaipur Trilogy: Book 1: The Henna ArtistBook 2: The Secret Keeper of JaipurBook 3: The Perfumist of Paris

"Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist - and confidante - to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own... Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow - a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does."--Publisher description.