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terryliz's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC edition of this novel. I found this story of an egotistical septuagenarian economist extremely funny. After being turned down for the Nobel prize for the umpteenth time and then having an unfortunate accident with a bicycle, Chandra starts really examining his life and realizing that his ambition has gotten in the way of his relationships with his three children and his ex-wife. In an effort to repair his relationships and figure out what will make him happy, he goes on a spiritual retreat where he doesn't really buy into all the mumbo jumbo but nevertheless befriends a magnanimous woman, Dolores, who runs a Buddhist retreat center with her husband. When Chandra's younger daughter Jasmine falls into trouble with drugs, he calls upon Dolores and arranges for Jasmine to stay at the retreat center. As Chandra gets to know his children better, he realizes many of the things that frustrate him about his children are the same things he doesn't like in himself. I found Chandra's mental ponderings and struggles hilarious and laughed out loud several times while reading this novel. If you like the writing style of Kevin Kwan in "Crazy Rich Asians", I think you'd like this novel as well.
nickieandremus's review against another edition
3.0
***I received an ARC of the book from LibraryThing in exchange for my honest review
Professor Chandra has worked his entire life towards one goal..... to receive the Nobel Prize. This year he is certain to get it, but when he doesn't he has somewhat of a breakdown, gets run-over by a bicycle and has a silent heart attack. He takes a sabbatical to try to make sense of his life and all of the choices he has made that landed him here.... divorced & his children don't like him and want nothing to do with him.
I really give this book a 3 1/2 but there wasn't a way to do that. There were funny parts throughout, but a lot of the time it was either the same thing being repeated (Chandra alienating people then getting upset because they got mad at him), or a lot of economic jargon that made my eyes glaze over.
Professor Chandra has worked his entire life towards one goal..... to receive the Nobel Prize. This year he is certain to get it, but when he doesn't he has somewhat of a breakdown, gets run-over by a bicycle and has a silent heart attack. He takes a sabbatical to try to make sense of his life and all of the choices he has made that landed him here.... divorced & his children don't like him and want nothing to do with him.
I really give this book a 3 1/2 but there wasn't a way to do that. There were funny parts throughout, but a lot of the time it was either the same thing being repeated (Chandra alienating people then getting upset because they got mad at him), or a lot of economic jargon that made my eyes glaze over.
pearlygum67's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
the_debber's review against another edition
4.0
This was a good read. Moved along, great characters however the reviews said it was “so, so, funny”. I didn’t find it very funny but still worth the read.
woodlandbooklover's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think I found it as funny as it intended to be. It was an easy story for entertainment. The reader of the audiobook struggled with the American accents, making all Americans mispronounce every foreign word. I don't know if that was written into the text or just the actor's performance.
urbansapphire's review against another edition
3.0
Professor Chandrasekhar left India when he was 24 and now holds the impressive title of Professor Emeritus in Economics at an Oxford College. Thwarted once again in his attempts to win the Nobel Peace prize, he is lamenting his situation when he is very inconveniently run over by a chap on a bicycle. This leads to him experiencing a silent heart attack and at a not-so-spritely 69, this event gives Professor Chandra a timely glimpse into his own mortality, and to realise that what he is doing with his life is perhaps not what he would want it to be if he had not survived the accident. Quite apart from that, he actually might have a good number of years left, and is he really living his best life? The short answer, is no.
Chandra’s long suffering ex-wife Jean has remarried and is living in Colorado with her new husband, along with Chandra’s youngest daughter Jaz. His son lives in China and his eldest daughter is refusing to speak to him, or indeed even let anyone else tell him where she is. Frustrated at being estranged from each of his children, be it through geography and/or family politics, he resolves to try and fix this situation and being told he must take a break from work to recover from his heart attack, he takes the bull by the horns and takes a sabbatical, heading off to LA, where it’s warm and sunny and he is at least on the same continent as (some of) his family.
Chandra is a complex character. He’s cranky, he’s selfish, he’s pompous and he has a HUGE ego – and disappointingly, he’s definitely repeated the mistakes of his father despite knowing what an impact they have had on him. He finds it very hard to see things from an alternative point of view and although he tries and tries, he repeatedly gets it wrong and manages to push those he is trying to get nearer to, further away. The other characters around Chandra are just as complex and multi-faceted, and at times you can feel the frustration leaping off the page because as hard as they try, they just cannot connect past the cultural and mental barriers they have erected to keep the other out.
This isn’t a fast paced book – it’s more gradual changes than an moment of epiphany; In a lot of ways it is a coming of age, a coming into the self, however at 69 it’s just happening at the other end of life.
I enjoyed this book but I felt it dragged a little as there was a lot of navel gazing although in many ways, this felt in tune with Chandra’s character. The writing is nice and flows well, and though it is a slow read, it builds nicely.
I read this book at The Pigeonhole, the online book club, in return for an honest review.
Chandra’s long suffering ex-wife Jean has remarried and is living in Colorado with her new husband, along with Chandra’s youngest daughter Jaz. His son lives in China and his eldest daughter is refusing to speak to him, or indeed even let anyone else tell him where she is. Frustrated at being estranged from each of his children, be it through geography and/or family politics, he resolves to try and fix this situation and being told he must take a break from work to recover from his heart attack, he takes the bull by the horns and takes a sabbatical, heading off to LA, where it’s warm and sunny and he is at least on the same continent as (some of) his family.
Chandra is a complex character. He’s cranky, he’s selfish, he’s pompous and he has a HUGE ego – and disappointingly, he’s definitely repeated the mistakes of his father despite knowing what an impact they have had on him. He finds it very hard to see things from an alternative point of view and although he tries and tries, he repeatedly gets it wrong and manages to push those he is trying to get nearer to, further away. The other characters around Chandra are just as complex and multi-faceted, and at times you can feel the frustration leaping off the page because as hard as they try, they just cannot connect past the cultural and mental barriers they have erected to keep the other out.
This isn’t a fast paced book – it’s more gradual changes than an moment of epiphany; In a lot of ways it is a coming of age, a coming into the self, however at 69 it’s just happening at the other end of life.
I enjoyed this book but I felt it dragged a little as there was a lot of navel gazing although in many ways, this felt in tune with Chandra’s character. The writing is nice and flows well, and though it is a slow read, it builds nicely.
I read this book at The Pigeonhole, the online book club, in return for an honest review.
flogigyahoo's review against another edition
4.0
Professor Chandra is a 69 year old economist, hoping for the Nobel, when he has an accident riding his bicycle and is ordered to go on vacation and relax. He is divorced from his wife, Jean, his son, Sunny lives in Hong Kong running an iffy self help business school, his daughter Radha, an activist, has not spoken to him in 2 years and refuses to let him know where she is and his youngest daughter, Jasmine, living with Jean and her stepfather, Steve, in Boulder, Colorado wants to quit school. So on the advice of an acquaintance Chandra decides to follow his bliss, which somehow involves visiting Esalen in Big Sur, California, a Zen monastery in the mountains and on the way getting his family together again. A blissful novel full of humor, intelligence and excellently written. Witty, charming, one loves Professor Chandra. I will be getting the other novels of this talented writer with the unpronounceable name, Rajeev BALASUBRAMANYAM. Whew...
aemsea26's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bethandhertea's review against another edition
2.0
While I wasn't expecting a whimsical book (despite the cover and title) after reading some reviews, I was expecting something a bit more lighthearted. It just didn't do it for me.