First published 2011
The heat presses down on the rooftop where figures gather in the stifling Indian night, seeking relief that never comes. In another world entirely, an aging Bollywood star moves through the cool marble corridors of her grand palace, the spaces echoing with memories of vanished fame. Ruth Prawer Jhabvala weaves together these disparate lives across a collection that spans India's social landscape. Her characters navigate the spaces between tradition and modernity, wealth and poverty, dreams and harsh realities. Each story captures a moment of reckoning, whether it's the desperate search for comfort on a sweltering evening or the quiet acceptance of time's passage in opulent but empty halls. The collection reveals how people adapt, survive, and find meaning across India's vast contradictions.
Genres: fiction, contemporary, 21st-century, asian-american
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, reckoning
Setting: India
Period: 21st-century
276 pages · Paperback · LITTLE, BROWN