I read a few Thrity Umrigar novels a few years ago and quite enjoyed her writing. I just kind of fell out of the habit of reading this type of genre of novel so even though I like the author, I would choose other books from my TBR.
Remy Wadia hasn’t been back to visit Bombay since his father died 3 years ago. He and his mother have always had a difficult relationship, and even now, he isn’t back to see her but to speak to the young, pregnant family member of a friend who may be trying to find someone to adopt the child. When he completes the obligatory visit to his mother, he realizes she has deteriorated more than he had realized and that perhaps the care he had arranged wasn’t quite as well suited for the situation as he expected.
As Remi deals with his mother’s failing health, he reflects on his life as an ex-pat in the US, married to an American, his relationship with his identity and slowly makes discoveries about his family. As these secrets come to light, it shifts everything, including his perspective of his father and his mother, and the sacrifices they made.
Unrigar is very good at taking themes that are global and easily related to (family, secrets, identity etc) and adding a specific cultural relevance to them – they both reflect common human themes and very culturally grounded contexts. She also just writes characters well, setting up situations for flawed humans that the reader cares about. It all could easily feel like a predictable family drama but something about her writing takes her novels beyond that.
