Norvell is an independent educational writer who specializes in English and literature. In this essay, Norvell discusses the unexpected elements in Divakaruni's story that keep it from being entirely predictable.

In its opening pages, "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter" seems to be a well-written but predictable story of cultural and generational differences. An aging widow moves from her Calcutta home to live with her son and his family in California. Although Mrs. Dutta is already in the United States when the story opens, the early pages are liberally sprinkled with her recollections of life in India. Author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni evokes Mrs. Dutta's life in India so beautifully and powerfully that even an American-born reader unfamiliar with the country does not merely understand Mrs. Dutta's homesickness but feels it. Mrs. Dutta stares out at her son's silent suburban neighborhood, emptied of humanity and activity on a weekday...