Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Morrow , $23.99.
A fabulously turbulent family drama set in two great cities, Los Angeles and Mumbai. The two settings are almost characters themselves, the smog, the traffic jams and the teeming, chaotic nature of the East alongside the clipped lawns and somewhat antiseptic, sliced-white-bread nature of the West – so bland you want to spice it up with chilli.
Wherever it is, east or west, slums or air-conditioned palaces, the one universal element is the incredible ease with which families misunderstand one another. This is the unforgettable story of two families in particular who live worlds apart yet are linked by an adopted child called Usha whose confusion and self-doubt as a child raised in America but born in India is relayed with great poignancy, honesty and humour. The role of women and their strength in anchoring their families through all sorts of maelstroms, the raw emotions involved in having to give up a child – and the inability to have one – are movingly conveyed without a shred of sentimentality. A rattling good yarn taken to another notch entirely by writing that has intensity and depth and a great cast of characters. Provocative and wonderfully real, the perfect book for reading clubs.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
