Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Thank you, Netgalley, for letting me read this book.
Sadly, I nearly quit reading at the first chapter. Nothing against the writer, but I had assumed the book was about women. Fair warning: it is about a family, including the father and son. Each member gets their chapters. I must admit that listening to text-to-speech, it was hard to tell who the chapter was about. I think that if an author sets up a book this way, they should include the words Chapter 1 or another number and then the name of the point of view. That would clear confusion right up front.
Once I figured out who the chapters were about and the book’s aim, I could see the novel through.
On the other hand, though this book was about an Indian-American family, it was universal in many ways. People not listening to each other. People not expressing their authentic truth. People jump to their own conclusions. Gossip. Betrayal. The reader wonders if they will ever find their way to healthy relationships. It was hard to live through all of this.
It is worth the read to learn how new Americans of other origins might see how this melting-pot culture gets in their own ways, too.
Darswords 