parents and their high expectations. Then there are their friends, members of their extended family and their servants. The novel along with the major and many minor characters meanders all over the place. The story travels to New York, Kansas, Vermont, Delhi, Allahabad, Goa, Venice, Mexico and many other places in between. It also seamlessly traverses into magical realism and back. With nuanced writing replete with vivid descriptions and stylistic prose, the novel is an ambitious work of art, sometimes funny, sometimes moving, delving into the themes of post colonialism, privilege, prejudice, racism, classism, immigrant identity, pursuit of success and trauma. The book could perhaps have been edited, but that would deprive the reader of the rich tapestry which is such an intrinsic part of this novel.
This is Desai’s third novel. I remember enjoying her first novel Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard. It was fun noticing the references to her first novel in this book. Her second novel Inheritance of Loss won the Booker. I did enjoy that book. Some of the themes explored in that novel appear here as well. The Coffman Library purchased The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny in November, and if not checked out, the book can be found on the Recent & Relevant shelves until the end of December, after which it will be placed in the Fiction section. Comments are closed.
|
Posts by Year
All
Posts by Month
December 2025
|
