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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
So till now iam satisfied with the stories told. I am really feeling for anil patil and his struggle to balance the expectations everyone hold unto him.He somehow reminds me of myself especially his feeling of not belonging into one culture properly.he goes through similar challenges like me and i know how draining this can be. The story conveys this in a beautiful way. I think thats the main thing i like about this book the depthness of each character .Leenas story is touching and gives a good insight of the paternalistic and backwardness of indian culture , like to accept the abuse through the husband but to shame the wife for running away cause she destroys the reputation of her family and the village in general. It makes me quite angry cause i know that this is not fiction but reality for many women in rural india. One thing i noticed cause i read recently a lot of books with setting in india that many of the characters come from a high class/middle class - high caste background. And its annoying me totally cause like in this book the untouchables/farmers and their problems are mentioned in a side storyline but only to highlight the graciousness and kindness of their masters in this case Anils. (He opens up a clinic to treat his servants, come on) I think there need to be more awareness and and more focus on this group of people and their struggle to survive. The books from indian authors are really lacking of condemning and showing the real nature of caste system and what it especially means for the People who are on the other end of it.
This pace of this book was pretty slow, but the text, characters and story lines were easy enough to follow. I found some aspects of this story to be a little predictable when it came to the culture shock and society/community stereotypes with the two main leads. And while I found myself favoring Lena's point of view over Anil's, I was satisfied with the ending.
Full review to come soon.
Full review to come soon.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s not too often that I can that I was surprised by a book but this is definitely true in reference to this book. Upon seeing the tile and reading the synopsis, I thought this would be a predictable boring read but instead the author presents the reader with a international coming of age story.
Anil Patel is the oldest son of Jayant and Mina Patel. Anil has four other siblings (Nikhil, Kieran, Piya, and Chandu.) Anil is the first in his family to go to college and when the book begins, Anil is preparing to leave his small Indian village to begin a medical residency at a hospital in Dallas, Texas.
Leena is the only child of Nirmala and Pradip as well as Anil’s childhood friend. As Anil is preparing to leave for a new life in America, Leena’s is also preparing for a new life as a bride. As the book progresses, both Anil and Leena both experience situations which changes their lives forever.
Anil Patel is the oldest son of Jayant and Mina Patel. Anil has four other siblings (Nikhil, Kieran, Piya, and Chandu.) Anil is the first in his family to go to college and when the book begins, Anil is preparing to leave his small Indian village to begin a medical residency at a hospital in Dallas, Texas.
Leena is the only child of Nirmala and Pradip as well as Anil’s childhood friend. As Anil is preparing to leave for a new life in America, Leena’s is also preparing for a new life as a bride. As the book progresses, both Anil and Leena both experience situations which changes their lives forever.
3/5
I had really high hopes for The Golden Son. The preview I read was interesting, and I finished the book fairly quickly after it arrived in the mail. At the end of the day, it’s not a bad book; I just didn’t love it.
The core characters, Anil and Leena, are childhood friends who grow apart around puberty. They conveniently are reacquainted right before Anil goes to the US for his medical residency, and Leena gets married into a too-good-to-be-true family. Slight spoiler: things go very wrong for Leena and Anil VERY fast.
The story itself was compelling, and the characters were generally interesting and well rounded. There were a few quirks that drove me crazy- an Australian character who sprinkled “mate” into every other sentence, Anil’s roommates who never stopped calling each other “Bhai”. Time was also a lil bit wonky, leaving some relationships a little less believable, and the extremely happy ending a bit rushed (seriously, in about 2-3 chapters, Anil finds a perfect happily ever after in a vague character who ends up being perfect).
But, all critiques aside, I enjoyed reading The Golden Son. It gave me similar vibes as “The Color of our Skies” or “A House Without Windows” mixed with Grey’s Anatomy. I’d reread it, but it’s not a favorite.
I had really high hopes for The Golden Son. The preview I read was interesting, and I finished the book fairly quickly after it arrived in the mail. At the end of the day, it’s not a bad book; I just didn’t love it.
The core characters, Anil and Leena, are childhood friends who grow apart around puberty. They conveniently are reacquainted right before Anil goes to the US for his medical residency, and Leena gets married into a too-good-to-be-true family. Slight spoiler: things go very wrong for Leena and Anil VERY fast.
The story itself was compelling, and the characters were generally interesting and well rounded. There were a few quirks that drove me crazy- an Australian character who sprinkled “mate” into every other sentence, Anil’s roommates who never stopped calling each other “Bhai”. Time was also a lil bit wonky, leaving some relationships a little less believable, and the extremely happy ending a bit rushed (seriously, in about 2-3 chapters, Anil finds a perfect happily ever after in a vague character who ends up being perfect).
But, all critiques aside, I enjoyed reading The Golden Son. It gave me similar vibes as “The Color of our Skies” or “A House Without Windows” mixed with Grey’s Anatomy. I’d reread it, but it’s not a favorite.
Very interesting book describing the life of a doctor studying in America far from his home. A great example of a person caught in between cultures, accepting that is where he truly belongs and finding a home in the two cultures he loves. I highly recommend both of her books.
Really enjoyed this book! I felt like the ending was abrupt; there could have been more.
‘The Golden Son’ by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
“Americans are so tightly wound, the way they kill themselves to get ahead. It’s no way to live, I tell you.”
I had high expectations of ‘The Golden Son’ after hearing from a few people what a great story it was and from seeing many four to five star reviews online. I also generally love reading books about different cultures. But I have to say, this book just didn’t do it for me!
The story is set on two stages: a small Indian village and urban Dallas, Texas. It follows the experiences of Anil, the eldest son of an esteemed Indian family who is struggling through a medical internship in Dallas, and his childhood friend Leena, who stays in their village and finds herself in a toxic arranged marriage.
One of the things I appreciated about this book was the opportunity to learn a bit more about Indian culture - I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the panchayat custom for settling community disputes and learning more about the corruption within the dowry system. But the rest of the story just kind of fell flat.
While there was a lot of plot crammed into this book’s 387 pages, I found there was very little character development. I could not get attached to any of the characters and found that the relationships formed between them seemed to lack depth or authenticity. Character development is generally huge for me and I thought there was very little here. There were also a few parts of the book that just straight up annoyed me (a physiotherapist having no problem dating a patient? A dramatic showdown that solves years of problems with one short conversation?) I did enjoy some of the hospital scenes though.
Overall, it’s a 2.5/5 for me. I know that many others have loved this book, so if it’s on your list give it a go! I would love to hear the opinions of others who have read it.
⭐️⭐️✨/5