Book Review: The Last Queen

I have been a fan of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni for years. My first wanderings with her were in Sister of My Heart which I read with my high school bestie. For a long time, we continued to refer to each other as heart sisters. I digress! Divakaruni is an artist at making characters come alive and capturing nuance.

The Last Queen starts in 1826 when a 12 year old girl, Jindan, grows up in a small village with her, mother, older sister, and brother. The family relies on Manna Singh, her father, to send home money from Lahore where he works for as a dog trainer for the Maharaja Ranjit Singh. She becomes the youngest and last queen of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. 

When Jindan meets the Maharaja, there is a 30 year age difference, and yet, Divakaruni's magic is that you, as a reader, are not horrified, unsettled, or uncomfortable with the 30 year age difference, because Jindan was not horrified, unsettled or uncomfortable. In Divakaruni's rendering. Jindan truly loved the Maharaja and revered him for everything he had accomplished. 

This book was hard for me to finish. 

I know how this story ends. I know how the Sikh Empire falls. I grew up with the stories of how the British stole one kingdom after another from the South Asian subcontinent, exploiting the weaknesses of its rulers, banking on internal politics and bickering to bring the resources and wealth under British rule. Reading South Asian historical fiction always feels a little like a fine study in betrayal, the ties that bind us, loyalty and family. 

My heart broke as Jindan describes handing over the Koh-i-Noor diamond and "passed around carelessly among the joking firang generals as though it were a bauble." And it broke again as she describes being taken from her 9 year old son. 

This book, with all it's heartbreak, is also a celebration of a woman who stepped outside of her designated role and dared to hold a kingdom together to protect her people and her child.