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The_Whiz
Mar 26, 2016The_Whiz rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Sripathi, an Indian man estranged from his daughter, hears she died in a car accident in Vancouver, Canada, leaving only her daughter behind. Reluctantly, he brings her back to India, where both lives start anew. Sounds interesting, at least the first half. Badami sets up the tragedy well in the first half, detailing the strife and troubles plaguing the main character, Sripathi, from his broken relationship with his father, his failure to be a doctor later, to his daughter embarrassing him by revoking the arranged marriage he set up for his daughter. The language and description used for the atmosphere is excellent. Badami shows us the bleak environment that Sripathi lives day to day, and how he feels about it. When we get to half of the book, the part where granddaughter and grandfather meet, it goes astray. Other chapters are preoccupied with other uninteresting characters and their uninteresting problems. The only redeeming part was reading about granddaughter Nandana, and her difficulty in coping with her new homeland. There doesn't seem to be any growth between grandfather and granddaughter. Things just happen. Then it ends. Book starts beautifully, but ends flat. I'm glad the book did not win 2016 Canada Reads contest. Story is more important than character, description, setting, or quality writing combined. The book had the latter, not the former.