A review by terryliz
Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam

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.