Rosarita  

Rosarita  

Author: Anita Desai 

Publisher‏: ‎ Picador India (7 July 2024) 

Language‏: ‎ English 

What if one day you discover that you never knew your mother as completely as you believed? That there is a hidden side waiting to be discovered. That the side you know doesn’t measure up to the colourful secret life she once had. That the time she had with you pales compared to the bold adventure, art and mystery that splashed her years before you? 

The revelation is quite enough to shake someone’s world. But with Bonita, the protagonist of Rosarita, the discovery is no less than an unexpected earthquake that threatens to rip apart everything she once believed about her mother. 

Set in the colourful town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the story follows Bonita, an Indian student studying Spanish, who stumbles upon an eccentric old woman who claims that Bonita’s mother, Sarita—whom she affectionately calls “Rosarita”—was once a free-spirited artist here. Bonita is astounded. 

The mental picture of her mother as a quiet, traditional homemaker is in sharp contrast to the bold, sassy artist who had once roamed Mexico’s art circles. 

Curiosity soon turns into obsession. Bonita travels far and wide, peeling back layers, just to peep into her mother’s glorious past. What she uncovers is much more striking than she could have ever imagined. 

The second-person POV works like an additional character for the book. It sucks you inside the pages, and you become a part of Bonita’s journey. 

The tense yet intimate feeling lingers throughout the book. 

Desai paints a vivid picture of Mexico, intertwining its art world and history with expert ease. The parallels drawn between India’s Partition and the Mexican Revolution leave an additional impact. 

The soul of Rosarita is, however, about the mysteries that exist within families—how you learn a lot about yourself when you dwell deeper into someone else’s secrets. 

At just over 90 pages, the novella is short, but it lingers in your mind like an old song you can’t quite place. 

It’s a quiet, reflective read—one that makes you think about the versions of people we carry in our heads versus their actual realities. 

If you enjoy stories that untangle slowly yet reveal unexpected depths when they do, then Rosarita would be right up your alley! 

Short, sharp, and beautifully written—almost like a long poem that leaves a lasting aroma in its wake.