You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.53 AVERAGE
3.53 AVERAGE
I loved the premise of this: Self-made billionaire philanthropist Dava Shastri basically wants to listen in on her own funeral. Diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, she arranges to have her death announced a day before her scheduled euthanasia, just so she can read her obituaries. She invites her children to her private island for a final Christmas gathering and tries to isolate them from the media coverage by having them check their phones at the door ... but the announcement leaks to them anyway. And the media coverage isn't quite what she expected. Two major secrets she thought were long buried come out, and the juicy scandals become the headlines, overshadowing her long career of charitable work. And naturally her grown children have questions.
I could understand Dava wanting to know what would be said about her, but I COULDN'T understand how she could put her legacy -- her "legend" -- so far above what her own children were going through. Her reputation was more important to her than their grief. She acknowledges to herself that she "could not extricate her love of [her children] with her own conception of herself and the Shastri name.... She didn't want to feel that way, and yet she had to acknowledge that her desire to be a force of good in the world was equalled by her desire to have her name stand tall and resolute through generations, similar to Rockefeller" (her personal hero). She also has an amazing ability to compartmentalize her life. She carried on an extramarital affair without guilt because she considers it "self-care."' Later in life, she pursued a friendship with a daughter she gave up for adoption before her marriage -- an easy, give-and-take relationship completely unknown to her other children, on whom she put a heavy weight of expectation.
So, yes ... I found Dava frustrating. That said, toward the end of the story, some touching moments had me genuinely misty-eyed. And I'll be looking up some of the less familiar songs that create a backdrop for much of her character's life. Ramisetti resists tying things up in tidy package at the end, which is more realistic, but I would have preferred a more definite resolution or two.
I could understand Dava wanting to know what would be said about her, but I COULDN'T understand how she could put her legacy -- her "legend" -- so far above what her own children were going through. Her reputation was more important to her than their grief. She acknowledges to herself that she "could not extricate her love of [her children] with her own conception of herself and the Shastri name.... She didn't want to feel that way, and yet she had to acknowledge that her desire to be a force of good in the world was equalled by her desire to have her name stand tall and resolute through generations, similar to Rockefeller" (her personal hero). She also has an amazing ability to compartmentalize her life. She carried on an extramarital affair without guilt because she considers it "self-care."' Later in life, she pursued a friendship with a daughter she gave up for adoption before her marriage -- an easy, give-and-take relationship completely unknown to her other children, on whom she put a heavy weight of expectation.
So, yes ... I found Dava frustrating. That said, toward the end of the story, some touching moments had me genuinely misty-eyed. And I'll be looking up some of the less familiar songs that create a backdrop for much of her character's life. Ramisetti resists tying things up in tidy package at the end, which is more realistic, but I would have preferred a more definite resolution or two.
(3.5 stars bumped to 4). I can’t decide if I really liked this book or found it mildly enjoyable. Dava is terminally I’ll. She’s invited her children and their families to the island (of course, they have an island) for a farewell weekend. Dava has decided to have an assisted suicide procedure instead of seeking treatment for her cancer. (First of all: you’re a freakin’ billionaire, Dava. Did it occur to you that there may be alternative treatments somewhere in the world you could afford to try?) Dava announces to the world she’s dead before she’s actually dead and she greedily reads what’s written about her death. Anyway, we, as readers, learn that Dava has some secrets the press finds out only after Dava is dead.
Loved the writing here, intriguing premise and some early twists brought me in, although rich people problems are not so interesting and the final half felt like themes repeating unnecessarily. Will be very interested to read her next book.
This expansive family drama from debut author Kirthana Ramisetti follows philanthropist & billionaire Dava Shastri, the matriarch of a big Indian-American family, on her last day alive. Dying of cancer, Dava decides to end her life on her own terms. Before that moment, she alerts the press that she has already died so she can see how she'll be eulogized. She also gathers her children, their partners, and kids at her home off of Long Island. While trapped by a storm, family secrets are revealed and Dava, an Indian woman who yearns for the clout and accomplishments of JD Rockefeller, tries to counteract the media's sensational narratives about her life by inspiring her children & grandchildren to carry on her legacy.
I listened to this audiobook and the narrator, Soneela Nankani, does a wonderful job portraying a large cast. This novel is stuffed with characters, storylines, and conflict. Dava's story, rightly, intrigues above them all...but it's so compelling, I became somewhat bored with all the other characters, who seemed very similar to one another. One other quibble--the story takes place in 2044, but I didn't really get a feel for anything "futuristic" in the details Ramisetti shares in each scene.
That said, Dava is a wonderful character and absolutely the star of this novel. Complex and distinct, she's a force of nature with a complicated core. The stereotypical narrative is reversed--she's the breadwinner and strong personality of her marriage, while her husband is the docile one who handles domestic matters. She makes no apologies for her ambition, which is refreshing. And while she is strong in her convictions, she's still relatable in how vulnerable she becomes when her life nears its end.
I enjoyed this book and the emotive narration by Nankani. Yet, the storylines were still a bit too convoluted for me to be fully invested in the secondary characters and their stories. If you're a fan of messy, dramatic, family-centered novels, you'll absolutely enjoy this debut.
Much thanks to @netgalley and @grandcentral for the #giftedcopies in exchange for an honest review.
I listened to this audiobook and the narrator, Soneela Nankani, does a wonderful job portraying a large cast. This novel is stuffed with characters, storylines, and conflict. Dava's story, rightly, intrigues above them all...but it's so compelling, I became somewhat bored with all the other characters, who seemed very similar to one another. One other quibble--the story takes place in 2044, but I didn't really get a feel for anything "futuristic" in the details Ramisetti shares in each scene.
That said, Dava is a wonderful character and absolutely the star of this novel. Complex and distinct, she's a force of nature with a complicated core. The stereotypical narrative is reversed--she's the breadwinner and strong personality of her marriage, while her husband is the docile one who handles domestic matters. She makes no apologies for her ambition, which is refreshing. And while she is strong in her convictions, she's still relatable in how vulnerable she becomes when her life nears its end.
I enjoyed this book and the emotive narration by Nankani. Yet, the storylines were still a bit too convoluted for me to be fully invested in the secondary characters and their stories. If you're a fan of messy, dramatic, family-centered novels, you'll absolutely enjoy this debut.
Much thanks to @netgalley and @grandcentral for the #giftedcopies in exchange for an honest review.
I genuinely loved the plot of this book and Ramisetti's second (which I also read a few weeks back). I think I have found that I am drawn to her plot and then slightly turned off by her lack of characterization/depth, especially of the main protagonist. Dava is a complicated character but I don't understand why she does the things she does and I have trouble believing that she would become such a presence for the general public to be so fascinated by her "passing." I really enjoyed her children and their development in the text.
Libby Kindle. An interesting look at family, duty, and mortality. I might suggest reading the acknowledgments and author note first, before reading the book. With the four+ siblings, the marriage (and affair), kids of kids, spouses, I feel the book got a bit cluttered. Especially with them the back and forth timelines. I wish the book was a bit cleaner, more streamlined.
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
3.5 stars
I loved the concept of this book so much when I read the description, I mean who wouldn’t want to know what people would say about you after you’re gone. I was so excited to read it and while I did enjoy it well enough I didn’t love it the way I expected to.
Coming into this book I was ready to be affected emotionally by it, by the surely hard and complicated time this family would have to go through; that this woman would go through with her death around the corner and her long hidden secrets popping up like the boogeyman.
However, I didn’t really get the emotions that I expected, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Instead of the sadness and angst I expected from a family learning their mother is dying there was just a lot of anger, which is understandable, but it felt like there was nothing but anger on the part of the children, and it also felt like Dava didn’t care for her four children, besides making sure her legacy survived which just made me kind of not like her and not care about her at all.
I didn’t really love any of the characters, they were all insufferable in their own ways, but I did feel sympathy for her children. They have big life altering news thrown at them multiple times and they’re just expected to deal with it.
I liked the time jumps, I love when I get to see first hand how events led up to certain things, but I did feel like the time jumps were awkwardly written at some points.
I think this was a good book, but these things kept them from being a great book in my opinion. If you want a story where you’ll fall in love the characters, this is not it, but if you want a story about family drama with some old hidden secrets in the mix then this is definitely for you.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the concept of this book so much when I read the description, I mean who wouldn’t want to know what people would say about you after you’re gone. I was so excited to read it and while I did enjoy it well enough I didn’t love it the way I expected to.
Coming into this book I was ready to be affected emotionally by it, by the surely hard and complicated time this family would have to go through; that this woman would go through with her death around the corner and her long hidden secrets popping up like the boogeyman.
However, I didn’t really get the emotions that I expected, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Instead of the sadness and angst I expected from a family learning their mother is dying there was just a lot of anger, which is understandable, but it felt like there was nothing but anger on the part of the children, and it also felt like Dava didn’t care for her four children, besides making sure her legacy survived which just made me kind of not like her and not care about her at all.
I didn’t really love any of the characters, they were all insufferable in their own ways, but I did feel sympathy for her children. They have big life altering news thrown at them multiple times and they’re just expected to deal with it.
I liked the time jumps, I love when I get to see first hand how events led up to certain things, but I did feel like the time jumps were awkwardly written at some points.
I think this was a good book, but these things kept them from being a great book in my opinion. If you want a story where you’ll fall in love the characters, this is not it, but if you want a story about family drama with some old hidden secrets in the mix then this is definitely for you.
Thank you netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.