Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan
Published: May 2, 2023
Random House Trade Paperbacks
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Pages: 368
KKECReads Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.
DEEPA VARADARAJAN lives in Atlanta with her husband and two children. She is a legal academic and a graduate of Yale Law School. She grew up in Texas and received her BA from the University of Texas at Austin. Her short fiction has appeared in The Georgia Review, and her legal scholarship has appeared in The Yale Law Journal and many other publications. Late Bloomers is her first novel.
Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata’s daughter, Priya, thinks her father’s online pursuits are distasteful even as she embarks upon a clandestine affair of her own. And their son, Nikesh, pretends at a seemingly perfect marriage with his law-firm colleague and their young son, but hides the truth of what his relationship really entails. Over the course of three weeks in August, the whole family will uncover one another’s secrets, confront the limits of love and loyalty, and explore life’s second chances.
Charming, funny, and moving, Late Bloomers introduces a delightful new voice in fiction with the story of four individuals trying to understand how to be happy in their own lives—and as a family.
“And just like that, I was free.”
Suresh and Lara are newly divorced and trying to figure out how to move forward. Priya is seeing a married man, and though she knows it’s wrong, she isn’t sure if she wants to stop. Nikesh loves his son and his partner. Will secrets tear this family apart?
This was such a beautifully written novel. It was equal parts funny, dramatic, sad, and powerful.
I enjoyed how this story was told from multiple perspectives and how it mixed traditional culture with current culture. The themes in this book are so well done, and the things represented are beautiful.
I liked the characters in this book. It was lovely getting to know them and seeing things from their perspective. I enjoyed the way the past and the present were represented and how things were viewed through a different lens.
This was such a great read. The story flows well, and the plot is engaging. The use of emotions was well done, and the humor is all well placed.
This was a fantastic debut novel, and I look forward to reading anything Deepa publishes.