Fiction
Verdict: Meh
It kills me to admit this, but I am finding a difference with Amerian born Indian authors and those born in India. Try not to die from surprise, but I find it hard to accept. I have indeed been missing Indian literature.
Vibhuti Jain walks us through the life of a fragmented Indian family and the fallout from an interaction that goes wrong between teenagers that results in their lives getting turned upside down.
I found the writing tedious and slow quite often, but if one looks, there are a few curious themes that stick out to me. Ones that suggest perhaps Vibhuti was not born in the US after all but migrated here. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, just surprising considering how...well....American the writing is. I'm guessing the protagonist in the novel has a similar situation to Vibhuti. And judging from how deeply personal the family disfunction is written, I'd guess she's been through that or something similar. Anyhow, not important.
The protagonist - Anjali, or Angela if you buy the name change line - happense upon her crush after he has been stabbed next to the highschool. There's a not well fleshed out subplot on the girl accused of doing this, but it takes no time in the story line. There's a big go round about who's actually to be blamed and who people would like to blame (Author nailed small town USA!) and many puzzling interactions with police, politicians, and the community that pass far more pages than needed. I understand you have themes....but there's a better way to get that across. I won't reveal the end as then you'd have no reason to read it.
In general, I advocate for reading things that help you understand others....I don't feel this suits that purpose at all. However, if you're interested, dive in.
~Becky~
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