Everywhere I looked on Bookstagram, The Henna Artist was the book everyone was talking about. It has always been a personal principle of mine not to read a book when it’s at the height of its popularity. I prefer to wait until the noise dies down to approach it with a clean slate, without too many opinions shaping my perception. The Henna Artist was published in 2020, but I only read it earlier this year. From the very first pages, I was drawn in. The narration, the flow of the plot, and the character development were so well executed. I quickly went on to finish the entire trilogy.

Last week, I finished Six Days in Bombay, and it confirmed what I already knew: any book Alka Joshi writes is a must-read for me. Here are some common threads in her novels that make her one of my favourite authors:

Real Women, Real Stories

Her trilogy—The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris—spotlights the struggles and triumphs of women in India in the early 1990s. Her stories show the resilience of her female characters and how they make wise, and sometimes uncomfortable, decisions to navigate the difficult terrains of culture and society.

Lakshmi in The Henna Artist fled an abusive marriage and had to start life afresh in Jaipur. The story is filled with emotional moments that force the reader to reflect on the uncomfortable realities women face. The same thread continues in The Perfumist of Paris, where the story shifts to Lakshmi’s sister, who faces a marriage in crisis and a job where she is being sabotaged. These themes are universal, and women across cultures can relate to them.

Interesting Plots Beyond Romance

Joshi’s novels often involve a crime that needs solving, keeping readers guessing about who is behind it. Romance is not her primary focus; instead, she sprinkles it in occasionally, using relationships to show character growth.

Her female characters are not in relationships simply for gratification, but to illustrate how much they’ve come to understand themselves—and that self-awareness shapes the choices they make about the men in their lives.

A Sense of Adventure and Place

Reading Joshi’s novels feels like taking a tour of India and beyond. Her descriptions bring the cities and cultures to life.

In Six Days in Bombay, for example, it was like taking a trip to Europe with Suna as a guide. Interestingly, Suna was new to these countries herself, so readers experience them alongside her.

Why Joshi’s Stories Resonate

Alka Joshi is a gifted writer who crafts stories that touch the soul while teaching us that resilience, determination, and the courage to use one’s voice remain powerful tools of liberation. Her women characters may not start out as brave, but they find their voices and use them. The journey to self-discovery is where her storytelling holds its greatest power.

If you haven’t picked up one of her books yet, you definitely should.