This is my favorite book of the year so far. It was everything I like in a book – really character-driven, about complex family relationships. It’s about a family where the parents are immigrants to the U.S. and they struggle to raise their children in a culture that is sometimes foreign to them. Their children…
I liked this book though it didn’t resonate emotionally as much as I expected it to. It’s a story of man in India who is recalling when his mother abandoned him as a child. Gayatri was a free-spirited artist who clearly felt constrained by her marriage and societal expectations. She leaves her family for a…
I loved this debut fantasy novel by Tasha Suri. It’s well-written and creates a fascinating world with a terrifying villain. It’s inspired by the Mughal Empire of India, something I knew absolutely nothing about before reading this book — which is why fiction by diverse writers is so important. Suri brings cultural references and perspectives to…
This was another read for Read Harder 2018, which checks two boxes: it’s a mystery by a woman of color and it’s set in India. It’s also a period mystery, which I love. It’s set in 1921, the first in a series about Perveen Mistry, who’s a lawyer in her father’s firm and is loosely…
I expected a book about Padma Lakshmi to be fascinating, and it was. She’s interesting to me for a few reasons. She hosts one of my favorite series, Top Chef, a show that somehow avoids the dumb theatrics and contrived plots of most reality shows. She’s from India and has lived and worked in numerous…
This was a really intense book, at times devastating, but I’m glad I read it. Just know that it isn’t an easy read. It’s the story of two girls who meet in Indravalli, India who meet as teenagers. Both are poor, uneducated, and forced to work to support their families, although even in poverty there’s…
The Lowland is another fantastic book by Jhumpa Lahiri. It begins in the 40s in Calcutta, India, telling the story of two young brothers born soon after World War II. Subhash is the elder, but he’s often overshadowed by his daring younger brother Udayan. Lahiri begins the book by contrasting the inequity of the gated…
This book was so different from anything I’ve read lately. It’s near-future science fiction set in India and Africa, and written in a really lyrical way. It’s the story of two characters, both on a journey. Meena is a troubled young woman who has just been attacked by a snake in her bed, which for…
The Book Stop 