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Kiran Desai’s second novel ‘The Inheritance of Loss’ won the Man Booker Prize in 2006. In Nepal, there was quite a hullabaloo over it with readers calling it insensitive and prejudiced. I tried reading it but I couldn’t finish it. It wasn’t the depiction of Nepalis in the novel that made me unable to read it. I just couldn’t relate to the story. It felt a little off. I have since then heard people rave about the book as well as criticize it.

Readers in Nepal were infuriated by the way Desai had portrayed Nepalis in the book. They come across as crooks and people on the lowest rung of the social ladder. Desai’s disdain for Nepalis is palpable in the book, says a friend who is a voracious reader. And I agreed with her, having found what little I read quite off-putting. I believe writers should have the creative license to write uninhibitedly but to have their biases shine through is something else. So imagine my surprise when this friend told me she was reading Desai’s third novel, ‘The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny’, and that she was quite liking it. 

I bought the tomb of a book, priced at almost Rs 2000, on a whim. I’m a sucker for pretty covers and I fell in love with the deep blue cover with different phases of the moon on it. Also, Ann Patchett, one of my all time favorite authors, has endorsed the book. It’s right there on the cover: A spectacular literary achievement. Authors like Khaled Hosseini, Mohsin Hamid, Junot Diaz, Lauren Groff, among others also have wonderful things to say about the book. Plus, it took Desai almost 20 years to write the novel. I figured there must be something in it. I decided to read the book in the month of January.

A couple of hundred pages into the book, I loved it. The characters were multilayered and I could relate to them. There were many lines and paragraphs that resonated with me. I was even taking photos of them to send to my friends. Things took a downturn when I was a little over halfway into the book. The story moved slowly and many of the instances were not related to the main plot and just weighing it down. Despite its length, the ending feels rushed. I finished it in a month, reading 20 to 30 pages in a day. But if I hadn’t roped in a friend to read it with me, I wouldn’t have continued beyond the halfway mark. 

Desai also came across as tone deaf, since despite the uproar caused by The Inheritance of Loss in Nepal, she has once again inserted a Nepali security guard into the story. The character, that comes in the form of a minor detail in the story, feels like an afterthought. The portrayal of Nepalis as security guards aka ‘Bahadur’ in books always irks me. Have authors not seen any Nepali in any other position than guards? If that’s the case, then all Indian and other immigrants should only work in department stores. Why are they then portrayed as engineers, doctors, and hot shot CEOs? 

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny has many parallel plots that feel unnecessary. I struggled to remember what had happened to a certain character, for example Mina Foi who is Sonia’s aunt, when her story was told in bits and spurts and I had read many other character’s stories before getting back to her. That’s not to say that their stories are boring. Not in the least bit. It’s just that when there are stories of the protagonists’ grandfathers, mothers, aunts and various other relatives alongside the main plot, you struggle to remember who is who, how they are linked, and what happened in their lives. 

Though the book is essentially a love story, it’s also a story about immigration and the issues that come with it. But Desai didn’t know how to tell a story without dragging it out. Issues lose their gravitas when they are written like annoying complaints at best. Also the characters have a whiny voice and at times I was way too irritated to empathize with them. Kiran Desai isn’t an author I’m excited about or willing to read again, especially when she seems to be guided by fixed ideas and biases. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny had a promising start but it failed to deliver. Desai had all that time to tell a good story, instead she just makes her character mope around till forcibly tying things together in the end. 

Fiction

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

Kiran Desai

Published: 2025

Publisher: Hamish Hamilton 

Pages: 670, Hardcover

Avani is studying law and she works part time at a bookstore. She loves reading romance novels and always has her nose buried in one. Then, one day, a man walks into the bookstore. He seems like a character straight from one of her favorite love stories. Aman is hot and the CEO of a successful company. He is also smitten by Avani and says and does just the right things. The two go on a few dates but when Aman wants to take things further, Avani feels things are too good to be true and shuts him off, despite every bone in her body telling her to be with Aman.

‘Too Good To Be True’ is a simple love story of Avani and Aman. It will remind you of the many Bollywood or even Hollywood rom coms that you have watched. There’s nothing new here but it still makes you happy while reading it. You know what’s happening and where things are headed but you can’t help smiling through it all. The writing is also simple and, if you are an avid reader, you can finish the book in a few days. But there are some lines and paragraphs that are so beautiful that you might want to reread them and that makes you stay with the book a bit longer than necessary. 

I read the book because I watched an interview where the author, Prajakta Koli, was talking about her writing process. She says several ideas came to her during the lockdown and she started working on a couple with friends, putting a writer’s room together. The third idea was so simple that she didn’t feel the need for a writer’s room. Instead, she wanted to see what she could do with it on her own. Two years later, she started working on excerpts of the story. It was never supposed to be a book. She was, at best, working on a script for an eight-part series that she could sell. When she showed her work to her team, they said it could be a book and things took a different turn from then on. 

Many of you might have already been familiar with the name Prajakta Koli much before the book came out. She has been making content on YouTube for over a decade now. She goes by mostlysane. She has also worked in some Bollywood movies. Her recent work, Single Papa, a six part series on Netflix, was so hugely popular that it has already been signed for another season. I follow her on Instagram and her posts are sometimes my daily dose of entertainment and other times, just the inspiration I need to get going. I bought her book because I wanted it on my bookshelf–as a reminder to be passionate about work and tell stories that you believe in. 

I’m not a big fan of the romance genre. I have read the likes of Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, and Casey McQuiston because their books have been all the rage online, especially on TikTok, but I don’t naturally gravitate towards rom coms. Truth be told, I think I read Too Good To Be True for Prajakta Koli. I find her humble, honest, and charming. And I loved hearing her talk about her favorite books and writing on the podcast ‘Kitabi Cabins’. I wanted to read what she had come up with as well as be a little inspired to write. The book might not have made it to that one shelf where I keep my favorites and it might have been a little too cliche but it’s a cozy read that comes from a good place. I will give it five out five stars because it’s a lovingly written love story. I’m also giving points to the author for wanting to tell a story badly enough to write an entire book without being fazed by what critics might say about it.

Fiction

Too Good to be True

Prajakta Koli

Published: 2024

Publisher: Harper Fiction

Pages: 307, Paperback

I came across a meme on Instagram where a guy asks a girl who says she likes to read to name her favorite book. She replies, “It’s Murakami by Norwegian Wood.” This silly meme made me want to reread Haruki Murakami’s ‘Norwegian Wood’. I had read it when I was in the 12th grade because it was all the hype back then. I had fallen in love with the plot and the characters and I always talked about it as one of my favorite books. But I remembered none of the details. I couldn’t even find my copy of the book on my shelves which is why I had to buy another one. 

All readers have favorite books. But as we continue on our reading journey and meet new characters and hear new stories, inevitably we forget the ones we have read a long time back. What remains is how they made us feel. When we say a certain book is our favorite, chances are that we are talking about how it made us feel and not what’s in it. This year, I’m planning to reread some of my favorite novels and I decided to start with Norwegian Wood. 

Norwegian Wood is perhaps one of the few books by Haruki Murakami that doesn’t have magical realism woven in the plot. It’s a simple, heartwarming love story, or rather the love triangle of Toru Watanabe, Naoko, and Midori. It starts with Toru Watanabe hearing his favorite Beatles song and being transported back to a time and place 20 years ago when he was a student in Tokyo and was in love with a girl named Naoko. She was the girlfriend of his best friend, Kizuki. He recalls those days when uneasy friendship, casual sex, passion, and desire ruled his life. Then Midori walks into his life and he has to decide whether he wants to hold on to the past or work on his future. 

Toru, Naoko, and Midori are fascinating characters with such strong personality traits that it feels like you know them personally. Some of the side characters, like Toru’s friends and Naoko’s roommate, are also integral to the plot. Despite making short appearances, Murakami ensures that they stay on his reader’s mind as much as the main characters. It’s the hallmark of a great writer. I liked the plot of the book but I loved the characters more. Even when one of the side characters goes on a rant, telling her story to Toru, you are never bored and actually want to know more. 

I can now understand why the book was all the rage when I was in school. It deals with friendship, love, and youngster’s search for identity and so it was bound to resonate with us. The love story angle is also intriguing. I find it fascinating that Murakami was 29 and running a jazz bar in Tokyo when the urge to write came to him. He wrote several books before Norwegian Wood, published in 1987, turned his six figure readership into millions. However, Murakami was uncomfortable with the stardom and moved to Europe and then to the United States for a life of secluded writing. It wasn’t until 1995 that he considered moving back to Japan, but he had his terms and conditions clear: He wouldn’t give interviews or make television appearances. 

I’m fascinated by Murakami’s mind. I wonder how it might feel to have all these stories in one’s head. Norwegian Wood is just one of his masterworks. Others like ‘Kafka on the Shore’, ‘The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle’, ‘Sputnik Sweetheart’  and his short story collections are brilliant too. I must have read seven or eight of his books and each of them have reminded me what good stories can do to you. They blow your mind wide open and urge you to look at things from different perspectives. 

Fiction

Norwegian Wood

Haruki Murakami

Translated into English by Jay Rubin 

Published: 2000 (English translation)

Publisher: Penguin Random House UK

Pages: 389, Paperback

‘Somewhere Beyond the Sea’ is the sequel to ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ by TJ Klune. Though you can read Somewhere Beyond the Sea even if you haven’t read The House in the Cerulean Sea and it will still work as a good story, it will be a much more wholesome experience if you read both the parts in the order they were written in. That way, the characters and the plot will grow on you and you will be consumed by the world Klune has created.

The House on the Cerulean Sea is one of my favorite reads of 2022 (that was when I read the book though it was published in 2020). It made me happy and the LGBTIQA+ representation was unlike any I had read till then. Despite being a story about magical creatures, it felt real and relatable. It’s also a queer love story of sorts as the author, a queer himself, has weaved one in beautifully without taking away from the central plot. 

In the book, Linus Baker, a caseworker at the Department in Charge of Magical Youths, is assigned to go to an orphanage on a remote island where there are six magical children. He has to determine whether these children are as dangerous as the ministry thinks they are, especially as one of them is the son of Satan. As Linus gets to know these mysterious children and the person who runs the orphanage, Arthur Parnassus, he starts feeling at home in this strange place. 

The House on the Cerulean Sea is a wonderful story about friendship, love, and how your sense of belongingness is tethered to people and places that make you feel safe and seen. Somewhere Beyond the Sea picks up where the first book left off. It feels like a continuation of the first part and I loved having an extended version of a story I had immensely enjoyed. It’s like being enveloped in a warm hug that you don’t want to get out of. 

In Somewhere Beyond the Sea, we see Arthur being forced to make a public statement about his past and that jeopardizes the orphanage’s and the children’s future. The Department in Charge of Magical Youths sends an investigator to determine whether Arthur is training the powerful children to cause destruction and Miss Marblemaw is far from a fair person. She seems to take an instant dislike to Arthur and the other inhabitants of the island. Arthur and Linus have to do everything it takes to stop the ministry from taking the children away from them. It’s a test of their love, for the children, for each other, and for all that they hold dear, and the extent to which they are willing to go for it. 

Klune’s books (and there are a few others apart from The House and Somewhere Beyond) are comforting, whimsical reads that make you happy as well as question your beliefs. I think of them as books to read when you need a little bit of cheer in your life and don’t want to think too hard. The plot can feel a little too simplistic and the humor a bit banal but you will still be captivated by the characters and the storytelling. Somewhere Beyond the Sea also has great LGBTIQA+ representation which is so important in stories. Arthur and Linus are interesting characters and it’s fun to get to know and see them grow. 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is easy to read as the language is simple. It’s funny and heartfelt at the same time. There’s magic and adventure that makes you keep turning the pages. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light, fun read to take their mind away from the humdrum of real life. 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

TJ Klune

Published: 2024

Publisher: Tor

Pages: 405, Paperback