Overview

• The novel, published by Penguin Random House imprints, spans nearly 700 pages and unfolds across India, the United States and other locales.
• Critics praise its breadth, humor and moral seriousness, with the Boston Globe calling it a triumph and noting Dickensian scope and detail.
• The book follows Sonia Shah and Sunny Bhatia in a transnational narrative that probes loneliness as a condition shaped by class, race, nationality and family ties.
• Desai has said the project took almost twenty years, describing an intense daily routine that kept her at her desk from early morning into the evening.
• The latest coverage notes Booker Prize recognition on the longlist as reviews spotlight the novel’s ambition and scale.