Among the millions of things I’m grateful for, here are a few that are exclusive to this week. ‘Coming Home’, my debut novel was awarded the Certificate of Excellence at the 6th Asian LitFest on the 20th of February. I’m extraordinarily grateful to all those who read the book and shared a review of the same on Amazon or Goodreads or both.
I’m also thankful for the short burst of rains we had today which led me to writing this haiku
I’m struggling to write
Myriad thoughts fight to get out
Watching skies shed tears
I had been complaining about the dust in the air which is making going on walks difficult. These unexpected Spring showers have helped it settle a bit and I’m more than grateful for it. I even managed to write a haiku.
I’m struggling to write
Myriad thoughts fight to get out
Watching skies shed tears
Last but not the least, I’m thankful for this lovely five-star review on Coming Home, written by Andrea Stephenson of Harvesting Hecate
69 reviews3 followersFollowingFebruary 21, 2024
This is a book about love, grief, family and ultimately finding ‘home’ wherever that might be for each of us.
The book opens with Shanaya’s mothers funeral, a vivid and heart-breaking account of confronting grief, while being aware of everyone’s eyes on you to make sure you follow tradition and do the right thing. The descriptions and heartache of the rituals drew me in and gave me immediate sympathy for Shanaya.
We then see her throw herself into work to try to deal with the grief. Her mother had been the thread that glued the family together and kept everyone up to date with everyone else, now that was threatened as she was no longer there. Moving back to India, Shanaya re-connects with her sister and dad though finds it difficult that they don’t talk about her mother. But it isn’t long before her sister goes to university in the USA and it seems her dad has an arrangement with the mysterious neighbours, the Shanbaugs, to find him a new wife.
Shanaya is a strong, successful woman – it is taken for granted that a woman should want to be successful, work hard and be extremely competent. But it is also gratifying to see the depictions of warm, female friendships, where women support each other, rather than compete or put each other down.
Shanaya moves from Dubai to India and will travel to a number of different cities before the end of the book. The author conjures up details of food, dress, the landscape and people that bring these places to vivid life, so that you can picture the environment in your mind. The depictions of food are particularly mouth-watering, but I also enjoyed the portrayals of the natural world and Shanaya’s delight in the wonders she sees.
This novel is also a love story. Woven into the narrative are Shanaya’s relationships with prospective husband Suresh, and colleague Jai. I won’t reveal any spoilers, but you will be keen to find out what happens at the end. Here too, there are references to moving – or not wanting to move, which contribute to one of the questions of the book – where do we find home?
By the end of the book, we have travelled far, met many interesting characters and experienced a range of emotions, all leading us to a satisfying conclusion.
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Now coming to the Thursday Doors challenge hosted by Dan Antion.
I took the picture in a cafe we went to, as we had to kill time until our daughter called to say she’d boarded the flight.
And the last one I have for today is a rickshaw (tuk-tuk) door
That brings me to the end of this post. Have a lovely weekend!
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‘Coming Home’ is a story on love, life, loss, relationships and family set in India. Here’s the international link to the book.
And if you’re in India, this is the link.
‘Coming Home’ is available on Kindle as well as Paperback.
Check out what others say about the book on Amazon and Goodreads.
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