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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda offers a nuanced look at an Indian-American family whose pursuit of the American dream is upended when their young son is arrested, forcing them to confront issues of identity, prejudice, and generational conflict. While the novel thoughtfully explores themes of immigration and social class, some aspects felt predictable and the storytelling occasionally relied on familiar tropes, making it a solid but not exceptional read
What I didn't realize was that this was better suited as a Young Adult novel... which wasn't the kind of book I was looking for. Everything was spelled out so simply, leaving little for the reader to think about, which is a quality about books I tend to enjoy.
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in some hot-button social justice issues but maybe not as familiar with them and looking for an introduction through one Indian family's experience.
What I didn't realize was that this was better suited as a Young Adult novel... which wasn't the kind of book I was looking for. Everything was spelled out so simply, leaving little for the reader to think about, which is a quality about books I tend to enjoy.
Overall, I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in some hot-button social justice issues but maybe not as familiar with them and looking for an introduction through one Indian family's experience.
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I really loved this book, as difficult and sad as it was to read. The Shah family immigrated to the US from India to better their lives, but the reality wasn’t what they were hoping for. After their autistic 12 year old son Ajax is arrested by the police, their whole world unravels. The book covers sensitive subjects like racism, class, and privilege. I think everyone should read this story!
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
became more predictable as it went on and very on the nose with its commentary, but this really gripped me in a way i was not expecting. i really enjoyed the way in which this explored its themed as well as the nuance it provided them. very much a timely book, and a great one at that
3.5 stars
I wanted to like A Great Country more than I actually did, because I felt like the message of the book is important - about systemic racism and how a "model minority" can find itself on the wrong side of the justice system, despite knowing that they have played by all of America's rules. However, I felt like Shilpi Somaya Gowda could have pushed the book's boundaries further as the book ends off on a somewhat anti-climatic note.
The Shahs had immigrated to America as newlyweds, Priya to escape her family while Ashok had grand ambitions of making it big in the land of promise, where caste does not matter as much as it does in India. Since then, the Shah's lives have improved and they have seemingly achieved success with Ashok's business taking off. And they can conveniently ignore the politics of race:
Meanwhile, the Shah children have gone up in America and have not known the same hardships that their parents have. Deepa, Maya and Ajay have quite different personalities but all of them have their own ways of navigating America and enjoying the fruits of their parents' success, at least until the night where Ajay gets arrested and their stable family unit suddenly gets threatened.
As compared to the children, I definitely felt like Priya and Ashok's perspectives were better fleshed out we see how they build their family from ground-up: in terms of their hopes and dreams when they left India and came to America; the sacrifices that they had made to get to where they are today; and their fears about what will happen to Ajay, given the obstacles that lay ahead for him in the justice system. As compared to their parents, the children felt more like cardboard characters as Deepa is the social justice warrior; Maya is the middle child who goes unnoticed no matter her misbehavior and Ajay is the science-genuis, whose parents did not get him the help that he needed as a child.
It definitely feels like the author had a strong message that she was trying to deliver about the immigrant experience; about building one's community while far away from home; about how assimilation and standing out can feel like the opposite directions that pulling at immigrants; about familial love and dysfunction. However, like I've mentioned earlier, I don't think that the author pushed the book's boundaries far enough, it could've been a meatier novel.
I wanted to like A Great Country more than I actually did, because I felt like the message of the book is important - about systemic racism and how a "model minority" can find itself on the wrong side of the justice system, despite knowing that they have played by all of America's rules. However, I felt like Shilpi Somaya Gowda could have pushed the book's boundaries further as the book ends off on a somewhat anti-climatic note.
Spoiler
The prosecution decides to drop their case against Ajay, the youngest Shah, who had been arrested for flying a drone near the airport and then running away from the police. This is probably the best-case scenario for the Shahs, but it felt a little unrealistic and like the themes could have been more deeply explored if the author really went for it.The Shahs had immigrated to America as newlyweds, Priya to escape her family while Ashok had grand ambitions of making it big in the land of promise, where caste does not matter as much as it does in India. Since then, the Shah's lives have improved and they have seemingly achieved success with Ashok's business taking off. And they can conveniently ignore the politics of race:
"Thank our president," Vikram said. "Nothing is inconceivable anymore. The best thing is to just try to blend in, be invisible. Personally, I don't like this term, people of color. I don't want to be categorized with Blacks and Mexicans. I don't even want to give white people the idea of targeting us."
"No one's going to target us," Ashok said. "We build their technology, we run their companies. They can't get rid of us. The internet would break." He laughed, trying to lighten the conversation.
"What about the Blacks?" Vikram said. "They're the best entertainers and athletes, and they're still targeted."
"That's different," Ashok said. "There's history there."
"It's different -" Ricky took a sip of his scotch - "until it's not."
Meanwhile, the Shah children have gone up in America and have not known the same hardships that their parents have. Deepa, Maya and Ajay have quite different personalities but all of them have their own ways of navigating America and enjoying the fruits of their parents' success, at least until the night where Ajay gets arrested and their stable family unit suddenly gets threatened.
As compared to the children, I definitely felt like Priya and Ashok's perspectives were better fleshed out we see how they build their family from ground-up: in terms of their hopes and dreams when they left India and came to America; the sacrifices that they had made to get to where they are today; and their fears about what will happen to Ajay, given the obstacles that lay ahead for him in the justice system. As compared to their parents, the children felt more like cardboard characters as Deepa is the social justice warrior; Maya is the middle child who goes unnoticed no matter her misbehavior and Ajay is the science-genuis, whose parents did not get him the help that he needed as a child.
It definitely feels like the author had a strong message that she was trying to deliver about the immigrant experience; about building one's community while far away from home; about how assimilation and standing out can feel like the opposite directions that pulling at immigrants; about familial love and dysfunction. However, like I've mentioned earlier, I don't think that the author pushed the book's boundaries far enough, it could've been a meatier novel.
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced