The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a magical tale and love story along the lines of Joanne Harris' Chocolat. Substitute phat kiri and kalo jire seeds for confections.
As a young girl, Tilo had a gift that eventually led her to the Island of Spices, where she pledged her life in the service of "the spices," which seem to have powers and wills of their own. Tilo -- and the other women like her who become mistresses -- are plopped down around the world in little shops to sell the spices.
One of the cruel tricks played on the mistresses is that no matter their age, they exist trapped within the body of an old woman. The spices do this in order to prevent their mistresses from being tempted by bodily pleasures that might draw them from their pledged, immortal service.
No matter what ails you or troubles you, Tilo is able to see deep into your soul and she has just the spice to heal or help you. However, when Tilo begins bending the spices to her own will -- ignoring what they say she should prescribe -- she discovers how quickly the spices can turn their magic against her. Often, the spices punish her by mutating the expected outcome of her meddling, harming the people she is trying to help.
Then, one day, Tilo meets an American man who seems to see through her false outer skin and, well, this is where the story becomes predictable. After incident-free decades of service to the spices, Tilo suddenly begins to really care for the people who visit her shop the troubled teenage boy fetching spices for his mother, the young woman whose father forbids her to marry outside her race. And, Tilo falls in love with the American.
Although you pretty much know how the story will end, Divakaruni makes the ride to your final destination comfortable and enjoyable. Happy endings abound in this feel-good story that also manages to impart insight into some non-culinary uses of spices you might just find in your own kitchen cabinets.
