Late Bloomers by Deepa Varadarajan on May 2, 2023
Genres: FICTION / Family Life / Marriage & Divorce, Fiction / Humorous / General, Fiction / Romance / Later in Life
Pages: 368
Format: Paperback
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage in this “heartwarming journey of self-discovery.”
Equally entertaining and heartfelt, this was a moving family drama that follows four different members of an Indian American family as they try to find love and start over after divorce and failed relationships. I enjoyed the multiple POVs in this intergenerational story.
There is the father, Suresh, who is like most men after a spouse is gone. He knows very little about how to take care of himself and how to meet women. He decides the best way would be online dating. Which is hilarious, as his son has to help guide him.
Then his son, Nikesh, has his own secrets, while pretending to have the perfect marriage with his boss. His own son is the light of his life though and he feels like family is very important to him, which is why his parents split hit him the way it did.
The daughter, Priya, dislikes the fact that her parents have split up and hates that her father is online dating. But what secrets does she have?? And she is frustrated with the constant questions of “when are you getting married and having kids?” that all her family ask her.
And poor Lata! She moves into a condo after splitting with Suresh and leaving the only home she has come to know. She gets a job at a music library and makes friends with a younger gal who is very different from herself. She is courted by a professor who brings her little gifts and starts to flirt with her. She has never been with anyone but her former husband so can she navigate her new world and independence?
This was a touching story that I recommend. It gave a view into the lives of all the characters and their troubles and offered hope. It made me laugh out loud numerous times. I can’t even imagine my parents acting this way. Maybe my siblings…haha. If you like family drama type stories this is for you.