Late Bloomers A Novel by Deepa Varadarajan

 Book Excerpt:

"An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage in this witty, big-hearted debut.

"Equal parts funny and heartbreaking, Late Bloomers is a charming story about starting over, stumbling, and finding yourself at any age."—Jennifer Close, author of Marrying the Ketchups.

"I have a soft spot for underdogs. And late bloomers. You've told me many things about yourself, so let me tell you something about me."

After thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating on a website that caters to Indians and is striking out at every turn—until he meets a mysterious, devastatingly attractive younger woman who seems to be smitten with him. Lata enjoys her newfound independence, but she's caught off guard when a professor in his early sixties starts flirting with her.  

Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata's daughter, Priya, think 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 his relationship. 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."

Title: Late Bloomers
Author: Deepa Varadarajan
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Four
Review:
"Late Bl"omers" by Deepa Varadarajan

My Sentiments:

'Late Bloomers' was an intriguing story of an Indian American family of a divorced couple [Suresh & Lata] after 36 years of an arranged marriage, with a grown daughter [Priya] and son [Nikesh]. What had happened with this arranged marriage that, after so many years, they decided to call it quits? This couple had problems, and their grown son and daughter also had some issues. Be ready for a family of lots of drama and complicated dynamics that will keep one turning the pages to see what is coming next for this family. One of their biggest problems was the secrets that the son & daughter kept from their parents.

Be ready for a story told in four voices... Lata, Suresh, Priya, and Nikesh make the story enduring in many ways giving the reader a heartwarming storyline about this Indian family and also forgiveness, courage, along with its bravery. It was indeed engaging to see how the parents and adult children could adjust to this new life ahead of them by starting over.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of Late Bloomers!