"In a suburb outside Cleveland, a community of Indian Americans has settled into lives that straddle the divide between Eastern and Western cultures. For some, America is a bewildering and alienating place where coworkers can't pronounce your name but will eagerly repeat the Sanskrit phrases from their yoga class. Harit, a lonely Indian immigrant in his mid-forties, lives with his mother who can no longer function after the death of Harit's sister, Swati. In a misguided attempt to keep both himself and his mother sane, Harit has taken to dressing up in a sari every night to pass himself off as his sister. Meanwhile, Ranjana, also an Indian immigrant in her mid-forties, has just seen her only child, Prashant, off to college. Worried that her husband has begun an affair, she seeks solace by writing paranormal romances in secret. When Harit and Ranjana's paths cross, they begin a strange yet necessary friendship that brings to light their own passions and fears"--
I know other reviewers here found the ending to be "too Hollywood," but I found it reassuring and in keeping with the narrative. These characters were so lonely, for so long, and still everything turned out all right because they took just a few steps out of their comfort zones and treated each other, and themselves, with tenderness.
Also, if Justin Cronin can turn the vampire apocalypse into a bloated yet bestselling trilogy, why couldn't Ranjana?
Also also, not adding the correct pronunciation for most of the characters' names until the last third or so of the book is just the cleverest.
