Set against the changing times of the middle of the 20th century, Desai's intimate novel digs into pressing themes of love, marriage divorce, education, and feminism as it weaves the threads of its determined protagonist’s quest for independence. Through the lens of a Parsi woman, Desai explores cultural and familial expectations. Desai's third-person narrative style is largely based on detailing intimate thoughts and letting readers overhear much character dialogue. The novel is long, but Desai invests such telling detail and engaging context into the telling, that readers of novels about women in the world will remain immersed, caught up in descriptions that are simple and beautiful.
Protagonist Farida is fully developed, and her psyche is absorbing. Due to the complexity of Farida’s life, readers may at times even want more of her on the page, and Desai doesn’t miss a beat when it comes to setting up secondary characters. Readers of romance will find the plot familiar, though the love story takes a backseat to Farida’s ups and downs, which will ring true to anyone familiar with what it takes to break from family culture or face heartache.
Takeaway: A Bombay heiress spirals into academia, the U.S., and a surprising romance in this culture-crossing novel.
Great for fans of: Bharati Mukherjee, Rishi Reddi.
Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: B