--- product_id: 45149126 title: "Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel" price: "₱2182" currency: PHP in_stock: true reviews_count: 12 url: https://www.desertcart.ph/products/45149126-before-we-visit-the-goddess-a-novel store_origin: PH region: Philippines --- # Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel **Price:** ₱2182 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel - **How much does it cost?** ₱2182 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.ph](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/45149126-before-we-visit-the-goddess-a-novel) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel [Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel Review: Amazing, heart-warming, beautiful - Well first of all,thank you to Ann Bogel, who recommended it in her podcast, " What should I read next? " If you have ever experienced estrangement from a daughter or mother this will be touch your heart. It is ultimately a book filled with forgiveness and hope. It also provides American readers a window into the culture and politics of post colonial India, as well as the Indian immigrant experience. The foods and desserts described make me more curious about them as did references to the legends and goddesses mentioned. Mostly, it seems to be a book about feminism, and you will have to read it to find out why! Find an edition with an interview with the author. Review: Divakaruni writes passionately, although sometimes sentimentally, about loss, regret, importance of communication & forgiveness - FICTION Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Before We Visit the Goddess Simon & Schuster Hardcover, 978-1-4767-9200-2 (also available as an ebook, audiobook, and on Audible), 224 pgs., $25.00 April 19, 2016 “What is more painful, the misplaced past or the runaway future?” It’s 1995 and Sabitri, in questionable health, has retired to her ancestral village in India. Receiving a desperate late-night phone call from her estranged daughter, Bela, in Houston, Texas, Sabitri begins a letter to her granddaughter, Tara, who has decided to drop out of college—but Sabitri dies before the letter is mailed. Fast forward to 1998: Tara has dropped out of college and is working in a thrift store in Houston, aimless and disconnected from her Indian heritage and a community that might offer her support, estranged from her mother and father, never knowing her grandmother. Before We Visit the Goddess, the seventeenth book by American Book Award winner Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is about dislocation: from family, country, and history; and the inevitable conflict resulting from each successive generation’s refusal, or inability, to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation. These women have more in common than they know. The plot is simple and would almost be a comedy of errors if the results weren’t so frequently tragic. The narrative, told by multiple characters and varying points of view—sometimes third person, other times first—is challenging as the flow is constantly interrupted by time and space, jumping around between the past, beginning in 1963, and ending up in the future, 2020; and between India, California, and Texas. On the other hand, this technique neatly mirrors the feelings of dislocation experienced by the diverse, well-developed characters. All of the principals are complex human beings in their successes and failures, provided with rich backstories and motivations. Divakaruni’s Houston is a joy in all of its multiples: racial, ethnic, cultural. She pokes a little fun at the “suburban funhouse” of street names in the surrounding bedroom communities: “Austin Colony, Austin Glen, Austin Crossing.” Divakaruni is adept at the just-right simile: the child Bela wakes from a fever in the hospital where “her mother’s face looms large over the bed, alarming as an out-of-orbit moon”; and when a young man who has recently suffered a heartbreak is asked out by a new man his “chest felt like it was too small to contain all the things knocking around inside it. Heart, lungs, excitement, a surge of blood like sorrow. The backwash of memories.” With its embossed dust jacket, Before We Visit the Goddess is a physically beautiful book in which Divakaruni writes passionately, although sometimes sentimentally, about loss, regret, and the importance of communication and forgiveness. Though the ending is rather abrupt, it is satisfying and hopeful. We fail each other, not necessarily from selfishness, but from obliviousness and with the best of intentions. Originally published by Lone Star Literary Life. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #910,694 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #701 in Asian American & Pacific Islander Literature (Books) #3,816 in Mothers & Children Fiction #8,721 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction | | Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (1,063) | | Dimensions | 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.38 inches | | Edition | Reprint | | ISBN-10 | 1476792011 | | ISBN-13 | 978-1476792019 | | Item Weight | 7.2 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 240 pages | | Publication date | April 25, 2017 | | Publisher | Simon & Schuster | ## Images ![Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81C1AmnsbsL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing, heart-warming, beautiful *by C***E on July 1, 2020* Well first of all,thank you to Ann Bogel, who recommended it in her podcast, " What should I read next? " If you have ever experienced estrangement from a daughter or mother this will be touch your heart. It is ultimately a book filled with forgiveness and hope. It also provides American readers a window into the culture and politics of post colonial India, as well as the Indian immigrant experience. The foods and desserts described make me more curious about them as did references to the legends and goddesses mentioned. Mostly, it seems to be a book about feminism, and you will have to read it to find out why! Find an edition with an interview with the author. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Divakaruni writes passionately, although sometimes sentimentally, about loss, regret, importance of communication & forgiveness *by M***R on June 6, 2016* FICTION Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Before We Visit the Goddess Simon & Schuster Hardcover, 978-1-4767-9200-2 (also available as an ebook, audiobook, and on Audible), 224 pgs., $25.00 April 19, 2016 “What is more painful, the misplaced past or the runaway future?” It’s 1995 and Sabitri, in questionable health, has retired to her ancestral village in India. Receiving a desperate late-night phone call from her estranged daughter, Bela, in Houston, Texas, Sabitri begins a letter to her granddaughter, Tara, who has decided to drop out of college—but Sabitri dies before the letter is mailed. Fast forward to 1998: Tara has dropped out of college and is working in a thrift store in Houston, aimless and disconnected from her Indian heritage and a community that might offer her support, estranged from her mother and father, never knowing her grandmother. Before We Visit the Goddess, the seventeenth book by American Book Award winner Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is about dislocation: from family, country, and history; and the inevitable conflict resulting from each successive generation’s refusal, or inability, to learn from the mistakes of the previous generation. These women have more in common than they know. The plot is simple and would almost be a comedy of errors if the results weren’t so frequently tragic. The narrative, told by multiple characters and varying points of view—sometimes third person, other times first—is challenging as the flow is constantly interrupted by time and space, jumping around between the past, beginning in 1963, and ending up in the future, 2020; and between India, California, and Texas. On the other hand, this technique neatly mirrors the feelings of dislocation experienced by the diverse, well-developed characters. All of the principals are complex human beings in their successes and failures, provided with rich backstories and motivations. Divakaruni’s Houston is a joy in all of its multiples: racial, ethnic, cultural. She pokes a little fun at the “suburban funhouse” of street names in the surrounding bedroom communities: “Austin Colony, Austin Glen, Austin Crossing.” Divakaruni is adept at the just-right simile: the child Bela wakes from a fever in the hospital where “her mother’s face looms large over the bed, alarming as an out-of-orbit moon”; and when a young man who has recently suffered a heartbreak is asked out by a new man his “chest felt like it was too small to contain all the things knocking around inside it. Heart, lungs, excitement, a surge of blood like sorrow. The backwash of memories.” With its embossed dust jacket, Before We Visit the Goddess is a physically beautiful book in which Divakaruni writes passionately, although sometimes sentimentally, about loss, regret, and the importance of communication and forgiveness. Though the ending is rather abrupt, it is satisfying and hopeful. We fail each other, not necessarily from selfishness, but from obliviousness and with the best of intentions. Originally published by Lone Star Literary Life. ### ⭐⭐⭐ I did enjoy this book *by A***R on June 5, 2016* First off, I did enjoy this book. I am a fan of the author and look forward to reading more from her. Sometimes I wonder, however, why an author chooses to narrate in a fractured way - skipping back and forth in time - rather than just telling the story chronologically. In this case I think a more straight forward presentation of the characters and generations would have been more effective. Recognizing that the three generations of women were the central theme, I also would have liked more resolution to some of the plotlines concerning the less central characters. That said, Before We Visit The Goddess is a thought provoking book with emotional resonance - well worth reading. ## Frequently Bought Together - Before We Visit the Goddess: A Novel - The Last Queen: A Novel of Courage and Resistance - The Forest of Enchantments --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.ph/products/45149126-before-we-visit-the-goddess-a-novel](https://www.desertcart.ph/products/45149126-before-we-visit-the-goddess-a-novel) --- *Product available on Desertcart Philippines* *Store origin: PH* *Last updated: 2026-05-26*