Sad, funny, charming.

This book is about an aging Indian widow, estranged from her gay son, who decides to travel America to find out the true story of his life. Along the way she hires a quirky Bangladeshi tour guide and a young American actress to be her travel companion. The story follows this odd trip, as well peeking into the life of the widow’s son in California.

I really enjoyed spending a few days with these people. ( )

Read for my book club. I enjoyed the book overall.

I particularly enjoyed how puzzled each person was over the actions of other people. The people were puzzled by their own actions frequently which was also amusing and kind of made me think of myself because I am regularly puzzled by my own actions as well as other peoples and this is not something that you frequently finding in writing - except I suppose for philosophy texts.

I also found interesting the prejudices of Satya and Pival, counterbalanced by Rebecca‘s near-complete lack of prejudices. Of course, identifying more with Rebecca, I see no prejudices in her :-)

There were so many scenes that I thought were quite well done. Examples: the meal with Rebecca's parents, New Orleans, tipping, cleanliness, Satya constantly calling people perverts while he was he clearly obsessed with sex.

One surprising feature of the author's style: Sometimes she went on and on about things such as Jake’s feelings about Bhim (way too long!) and then other times the author stated things so tersely ("I went to America to find my son and kill myself" and "discussion was going well until Bhim dropped dead"). That just seemed inappropriate and a cop-out every time she did it.

One question I was left with: Ok, I get why Pival returned to India. I get why she fired her old servants. But why hire new servants? I thought she no longer needed or wanted servants. ( )

A surprisingly quirky read ( )

thoroughly delightful in every way ( )

Pival Sengupta, a recently widowed Kolcatta native, books a trip to America for her first solo venture outside her home city. But she’s not really interested in seeing all the sights across America so much as she wants to find some connection to her estranged son, Rahi, who had been living in California. Did he visit any of these places? What would he have thought? She’s accompanied by a tour guide, Satya, and a paid companion, Rebecca.

This went in directions I wasn’t expecting. I had read little about the book in advance, and thought it would a lighthearted, somewhat humorous look at America through the eyes of a total newcomer. But there were many deeper issues here.

Pival must deal with her grief – over both her husband and her son. She is also consumed by anger, confusion and regret over a life she’s never had, having given up any control to others before now. She’s puzzled by the freedom Rebecca shows – how comfortable and assertive she is, how she dresses, her consumption of alcohol – and also a little envious.

Rebecca is struggling with her own life choices. She has a contentious relationship with her mother, is not having success as an actress in New York, but cannot seem to seek a career away from that city. This “break” gives her time to think over her life and her choices.

Satya is in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa. He hasn’t left the small circle of immigrants he’s found in New York before now, and has been furiously studying, trying to always have an answer, even if he must make it up. He’s puzzled by a tourist (Pavil) who doesn’t want to shop at ever stop, and feels stressed by any possible change in plans. And he has regrets and guilt over how he’s treated his best friend.

And Rahi … in flashbacks the reader gets to know him and his lover Jake. And learn something of the conflicts he had to face in acknowledging his sexuality and being estranged from his family as a result.

There WERE humorous scenes, and I enjoyed seeing some of these sights through the eyes of Pavil and Satya. But there were several scenes that were emotionally charged, especially once the trio makes it to Los Angeles. At times I was in tears. I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending is hopeful. All the characters have to find ways to deal with the past and to move forward with courage.

This is Franqui’s debut novel. I look forward to reading more from her in the future. ( )