Book Review: The Golden Son

You may remember in 2014 when I read Shilpi Somaya Gowda's debut novel, Secret Daughter, and compared her writing to Khaled Hosseini's. (If you don't, click on the above link to see my review.) Just as I loved Hosseini's second novel even more than his first, the same applies to The Golden Son. (It even had a similar feel to A Thousand Splendid Suns at times.) If I had no real life responsibilities, I would have finished this book in one sitting. It was that hard to put down!

The first of his family to go to college, Anil Patel, the golden son, carries the weight of tradition and his family’s expectations when he leaves his tiny Indian village to begin a medical residency in Dallas, Texas, at one of the busiest and most competitive hospitals in America. When his father dies, Anil becomes the de facto head of the Patel household and inherits the mantle of arbiter for all of the village’s disputes. But he is uneasy with the custom, uncertain that he has the wisdom and courage demonstrated by his father and grandfather. His doubts are compounded by the difficulties he discovers in adjusting to a new culture and a new job, challenges that will shake his confidence in himself and his abilities.

Back home in India, Anil’s closest childhood friend, Leena, struggles to adapt to her demanding new husband and relatives. Arranged by her parents, the marriage shatters Leena’s romantic hopes, and eventually forces her to make a desperate choice that will hold drastic repercussions for herself and her family. Though Anil and Leena struggle to come to terms with their identities thousands of miles apart, their lives eventually intersect once more—changing them both and the people they love forever. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Everything about this book was just beautifully written, making me feel sympathy toward all the characters (except the villainous ones). It was so interesting to see Anil's lifestyle in Texas in comparison to what Panchanagar (his village in India) was like whenever he returned for a visit or whenever I saw what was going on with Leena. I don't know much about medicine, but reading about how grueling Anil's residency was made me never want to become a doctor. (And I give doctors even more kudos after reading this novel.) The dynamics and dialogue between characters felt so realistic that every scene jumped off the pages and into my head. Gowda uses descriptions that bring people and places to life without detracting from the narrative, which is what I prefer in the books I read. Even a day or so after putting down the book for the final time, I can't get it out of my head.

I would have liked more of Leena's side of the story in the last part of the book, as most of the focus stayed on Anil's narrative at that point. I just liked reading her "voice," as well.

While I read that this story took Gowda five years to write, I hope she doesn't take as long to come up with her next masterpiece. I'll be eagerly awaiting its arrival on my bookshelf.

I think this would definitely be great as a movie, but I'm not sure who I'd cast. I'd love to see it on the big screen though!

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