Latest / Bookies' Favourite / The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny by Kiran Desai | Review | Booker Prize 2025

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The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny by Kiran Desai | Review | Booker Prize 2025 · Bookies' Favourite

0:13
Hello. Hello, welcome to the Club
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bookies favorite book club. We discussed literary shortlists
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and award-winning novels. This episode we're discussing
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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kieran Desai.
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I'm Lucy and I'm being attacked by a dog in Goa.
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I read this book pretty much. It's taken me like the last kind
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of month. I've been doing it quite slowly.
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And then I read most of it last night.
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Yeah, I really enjoyed it. I really liked it.
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It's quite old fashioned at times.
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It's definitely one of the stronger ones of the shortlist.
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Definitely the. The writing is excellent.
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Definitely probably a bit too long and but yeah, I loved it.
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I I tend to really enjoy Indian fiction, so I was really excited
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to read it and I really enjoyed it.
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Hi, I'm Aaron, our resident radio journalist, and I am
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sitting in The Associated Press newsroom.
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I listened to this book by audiobook.
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It's a very long audiobook over 25 hours long and so I was
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listening on like 2.5 speeds and thankfully the the person who is
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reading it is a slow reader so it's still, you can still
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understand it whenever you speed it up.
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This book was actually really enjoyable and easy to follow.
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I definitely missed chunks of what was happening, but because
1:38
it there's so much to it, I just had to move on.
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I couldn't go back and and try to figure out what I had missed
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and but I'm really excited to discuss this.
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Hi, I'm Hannah, and I'm currently floating in the sea
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thinking about kebabs. When I looked at the book and
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seen that it was like 670 pages, I absolutely freaked thinking
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how am I going to read this over the space of like a week and a
2:01
bit? But I actually really enjoyed
2:05
it. I like the idea that it was
2:08
based kind of in like the 1990s and then we kind of move along
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with the times and we have such like significant cultural
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moments like 911 in it. And this idea by immigrating and
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moving away from home and all the different characters in it.
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So I actually compared to Flashlight.
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There wasn't a moment in this book where I was bored or
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thinking wow this is too long or like land in winter where I was
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thinking how many more pages is in this.
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I actually just was like flying through it not noticing like how
2:41
quickly I was reading it. So overall really enjoyed it.
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Also, in this discussion we will be talking about themes such as
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racism, sexual assault. Spoil a warning from this point
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onwards if you haven't read the book yet and you're planning to
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come back to this discussion after you've done so.
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To start us off, here's a quote from The Loneliness of Sonia and
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Sonia. I spent all my time trying to
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pretend I'm not lonely. If you're lonely, you feel
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ashamed, and the only relief to your shame is being alone, which
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is what makes you lonely in the first place.
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It follows the life of two young Indian people in the 90s, one
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Sonia and the other Sunny, and their families and their family
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life in India while they are in America.
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And they are initially almost arranged to be married, but they
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both don't really want to be involved in that because they're
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in relationships or situation ships with people in the US.
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Their lives intertwine and then go away from each other and then
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just their whole lives. And the main theme, which is the
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title of the book, is the loneliness of Sonia and Sonny
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because they are at times deeply, deeply lonely.
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Lucy, I'm dying here, OK? Please tell me your favorite
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character. I really related to to Sonny.
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I really loved him. Yeah, I OK, not not my like that
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wasn't my favorite favorite, but yeah, I just related to Sunny.
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Too run away from his problems, I do that I love.
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Me too. There's so many things where I
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was like, this is exactly how I would have reacted and I was
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like, I really need to take this opportunity to think about
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myself. And I feel the same way about
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Louisa and Flashlight. It's like I'm recognizing all my
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worst qualities, but at least Sunny was a bit nicer.
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I like Sunny a lot. I really loved Mina Foy.
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Is that how you say it? Yeah.
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Just this idea that she was called the disappointing
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daughter all because she never. Well, she got married and then
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divorced. But at the part where like
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spoiler. But their father dies and it's
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the idea that he hasn't saved any money for her to be looked
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after once he passes and she gets to go to like a not a
5:01
convent I is it a convent? It is a convent.
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Yeah. When?
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She gets to go to the convent and she seems like she's the
5:07
happiest person. Like, she's so happy to go
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there. And I love her little story
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about Ernest and like, this idea of like, true love and how it
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doesn't work out. And then I've never heard of
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anyone so happy to go to a convent.
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And she's like living her best life.
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It's like the opposite of small things like these.
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Yeah, yeah. Everybody's worst nightmares to
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go to a convent. Yeah, I know.
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I really liked her. I liked her from the.
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She's such a great character. And like, I think those opening
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bits, I kind of almost felt like a real, like, 18th century novel
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where it's like talking about like the whole family and like
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the servants and like that kind of thing.
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Which again, I don't know that that's going to sound
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particularly good, but I think it's like the last time, like we
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would never have a servant in our house.
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We would never have a cook, we would never have a chef, we'd
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never have that kind of thing. That would be like that's Real
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Housewives level stuff. The only time I read a book
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where they have that kind of situation is usually India or
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like old England. And so it's, I think that I
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don't know if Karen Decide was kind of doing that
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intentionally, but like the whole family dynamic really
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reminded me of like one of those big novels like Anna Karenina or
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something like that, where you kind of get to know like mainly
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from the perspective of the people who have the servants and
6:32
staff as opposed to the people who are.
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But I do still love that kind of dynamic and I really enjoyed
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that. I know because it reminded me
6:42
back to Heart Lamp, you know, like how weird though is it that
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that's the book we finished on last time for the International
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and now we're doing like another Indian writer and ending like
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this little season on it. But I just felt a bit more, I
6:59
don't know, maybe prepared in a way when the different
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characters and maybe the family dynamics in a way from reading
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Heart Lamp. I kind of had that setup of, I
7:08
don't know, I understood it a bit more.
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I don't know of any of you thought the same.
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I do think that this book is many written with the
7:18
international audience or the international reader in mind.
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And, and especially because the two lead characters, the two
7:28
protagonists in this book are both stationed outside of India
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for large chunks of the book. And that might help us out.
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And but I do think that this really reminded me of Heart
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Lamp. Maybe like that's obvious, but I
7:52
think it did what heart Lamp was trying to do a lot better.
7:56
Now I understand that Heart Lamp was specifically trying to
8:01
target the actual people within is the actual women within those
8:06
communities. While this I don't think has
8:10
that specific niche audience that it's trying to get to.
8:14
But for me, I understood what was happening a lot easier with
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this this book I. Don't understand what you mean
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when you say that it's doing what Heartlap was trying to do.
8:32
And basically just share the like stories and culture of
8:38
India but. Again, India is huge.
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It's also a very different story of India because it's in a
8:47
different religion, which as we know from history, like there's
8:53
a massive divide between Hindus and Muslims in India.
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I, I don't know that I, I do read quite a lot of Indian
8:59
fiction. So I, I don't know that I
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massively find a parallel between them.
9:03
They're completely separate ends of the performance.
9:06
They briefly go to go well, which I believe would be
9:08
slightly closer to where Bani mush tacks from, but I didn't
9:12
think I could be getting my, my geography wrong there.
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But I don't think that I find any massive parallels other than
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they're both Indian. I'm not trying, like, I, I'm not
9:26
at all trying to say that they're the same book because
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obviously they're not. And I just mean the fact that
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they both heavily explore Indian culture and dynamics that are
9:38
very unique to, uh, India, at least from my perspective as
9:46
somebody from Ireland. Uh, yeah.
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I, I, I was just, I, I also haven't read a ton of Indian
9:54
literature. So whenever I've read 2IN a
9:59
year, I'm just drawing connections between them.
10:02
Also the the they keep there's particular characters in this
10:07
book who keep saying, Oh, I'm a feminist, but it's almost like a
10:11
very specific part of their identity that whenever they
10:15
introduce themselves to other women, they're like, oh, I'm a
10:18
feminist. And that just reminded me of
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Heartland because that was like a feminine.
10:26
They weren't as upfront with their feminist stuff and that,
10:30
but that was very much feminist book of short stories.
10:36
I suppose when because they do mention the whole like with the.
10:40
I can't remember the name of the, but in 1992 there was that
10:44
incident where the that mosque was destroyed.
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And they mentioned that in the in the book in Sonia and Sonia.
10:55
And then they mentioned, I thought it's quite interesting.
10:57
Is it? It's Sonia's dad.
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He always like, because they were having all those like
11:05
clashes and things and he was like, oh, just blame the British
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or what did he say? I can't remember exactly what it
11:09
was, but he was like. Is this like thing over the
11:14
British have won or something? Yeah, said the British have
11:16
gone. I do love the part where they do
11:19
talk about Ireland in the book. The Canadian.
11:23
Yeah. Is that when they talk about
11:25
Ireland being ruled by the British or whatever, there's a.
11:30
Canadian Irish guy and he's like, we're in the same
11:32
situation. Is this when he's in Mexico,
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isn't it? Yeah.
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But yeah, I love the the dad, like he obviously has these
11:42
views that are like, really, what is it?
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He. He.
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Is it to do with that partition as well?
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Yes. Yeah.
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Well, the when was the Indian partition, like the 50s?
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But something I thought was really interesting was the dad
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is like, obviously he sees himself.
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So this is Sonya's dad. He sees himself as quite like, I
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don't know, like more more. I don't know if the word
12:03
cosmopolitan would be correct, but he's always like doing
12:05
things that maybe seem a bit more less like Hindu
12:09
nationalist. And I thought the whole like
12:11
Hindu nationalism stuff in the book was really interesting
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because it's very subtle. But like just that rise of it
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that has been happening in the last kind of however many years
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was I thought was really interesting.
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And he, what does he say? He's like, I don't know,
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everybody in the office has started putting more like Hindu
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stuff, like overtly Hindu things in their office.
12:31
And he does the opposite. And they start like really
12:33
complaining about him. I don't know if I'm remembering
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that right. There's it's a long book.
12:36
It's a big book, but I really like that stuff because that's
12:39
kind of such an interesting considering what's happening in
12:41
India at the moment. It's so interesting to think
12:45
that like this has been actually kind of rising since like the
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90s. And like those those incidents,
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it's really interesting considering like after 911 they
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talk about how the the more persecution against Muslims is
12:59
happening and it's seen as more acceptable to the world to blame
13:04
Muslims for things that are happening.
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So then all it starts again, all this kind of, and again, I don't
13:10
know massively about Indian history, but I just think it's,
13:13
it's such an interesting like period of time.
13:16
And yeah, how because they kind of talk about Kashmir and they
13:19
talk about Pakistan and stuff. And then again partition.
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But like, yeah, I just find it really like, because it's not,
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it's not a political book really at all.
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But you can see how different characters are being dragged in
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different kind of political directions, especially Sunny,
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who's almost very well, he is extremely Western in his
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thoughts. But yeah, I find that whole
13:39
stuff really interesting. Oh, yeah, it's that like
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politics isn't everything and which is why I can't understand
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when people say, oh, I'm not interested in all of that.
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Like this doesn't involve me. And it's like it's every bit of
13:53
your life, like who you vote for, the parties setting your in
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kind of thing. I just love those elements of
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the book and especially this idea of struggling, Sunny and
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Sonia struggling with their identity.
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And in particular Sunny, like when he's in America and it's
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this idea of, oh, he should be so some he should be more
14:16
westernized because he's in America.
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And and this idea that everyone's like, oh, we sent our
14:22
son away and he's going to be great in America and all this.
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But then there's that separation between honour and your kind of
14:32
like Indian heritage, but then also trying to become an
14:35
American and that difficulty through it.
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I just loved that exploration of it.
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I think I, I don't have the specific quote from it, but that
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does come up a lot throughout the the novel.
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And they say something like the goal of Indians are to become
15:00
American and to be American is to hate India.
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So it's funny how they have to make that transition and like
15:11
you see that throughout where like he does kind of look down
15:14
on other Indian people are like parts of his culture.
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And it really shows how people are are taught to criticize
15:27
their their own, like race and ethnic background and culture,
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especially maybe back in the 90s.
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Now I think people are a bit more aware and try to embrace
15:38
stuff. But back then, yeah, it
15:41
definitely makes sense why you would want to distance yourself
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and be like, I'm not like those people that you stereotype
15:50
everyone as. Like, I'm, I'm an American.
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And so don't treat me like how you treat them.
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I will treat them the same as you treat them.
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And it was also seen like this kind of idea of maybe that
16:04
they're a failure if they come back to India and try and live
16:07
again that way. They should have succeeded in
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the West and stayed there because it's so much better.
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So you see that difference with Sonia, you know, coming back
16:17
home and then the Sunny still stay in there.
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But at the start of the novel, I thought it was going to be
16:22
completely kind of different to what I expected, especially when
16:25
we first meet Sonia and she's at university and she kept crying
16:32
the whole time. And I just thought this would be
16:33
so different. But then she meets the artist.
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Is it Elan Elan? I'm not really good at
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pronunciating words. And I just.
16:44
So I was thinking, Oh no, is this going to be a whole other
16:49
novel where, you know, a smart, intelligent woman is, like,
16:53
overpowered and taken by this artistic man?
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And even though it's like a part of the novel, I think it's
17:01
explored completely differently for me of like, her getting away
17:05
and stuff I got later on in the novel.
17:09
But yeah, it was really easy to see, like, how people can be
17:12
controlled and when you're lonely, you know who you'll
17:15
cling to for company. What did you think of his
17:19
character or anything? Does anyone have any I?
17:22
I remember feeling really strongly like, oh, he is like,
17:25
and there can't be a person that's like this so ridiculous.
17:31
And I remember thinking like, what is she doing here?
17:33
Like what's going on? Like, because he's like, for
17:36
anyone who hasn't read it, who's decided to listen to this and
17:39
he's over the top Lee, like needy and desperate, but
17:45
horrible and controls her life completely.
17:48
And she's got herself into this situation where she's kind of
17:52
like just doing whatever he wants.
17:54
Is this the whole idea as well? That because his mother doesn't
17:56
love him, that he is acting out in this particular way.
18:02
There's some like that. Was it the mother swimming
18:05
portrait or something? There's like, yeah, yeah.
18:09
Yeah, he's of some obsession with his his mother, which is.
18:13
Yeah, again, he seems like the absolute cliche of an artist.
18:16
And I thought it was interesting as well because later on when
18:19
Sonya like pages and pages and pages after they're like
18:23
hundreds of pages after their relationship ends, It's like she
18:27
talks about him and she talks about because Sonia wants to be
18:29
a writer and she talks about like she can't write a book
18:32
about him because obviously it's it falls into all these tropes
18:36
And it's so like it is quite meta.
18:38
Just the fact that Karen decide, right.
18:41
OK, so this is another thing. So Karen Desai, her mother is
18:47
another Indian author and she has three of her books have been
18:50
nominated for the Booker Prize, right?
18:53
Her mom is half German, meaning Karen Desai's ground was German.
19:00
And so I was kind of like having known that going into the book,
19:03
I was like, wait a second, Is this like a self insert here or
19:07
are you Sonia? And I don't know that she is or
19:10
anything, but it kind of made me think, did she maybe have?
19:14
I don't not really speculate, but like if she had a similar
19:16
experience but she felt unsure of how to write this like that
19:21
was, Yeah. Because I, like someone said
19:24
when I was reading online, someone said this book took her
19:26
like 15 years to write or 15 years potentially from her last
19:31
novel. But I think back to what you
19:35
said about like this troop of trying to write, Oh, you can't
19:38
write about, you know, the artist when they mention magical
19:41
realism and don't talk about magical realism.
19:44
We're arranged marriages. The magical realism thing.
19:46
We laugh because every time I think magical realism, I think
19:49
of that first kind of bicker of shoot, like when before we had
19:53
the podcast. But I love that she was like,
19:56
don't talk about magical realism.
19:57
But then we have like these Heinz, you know this.
20:01
Hind that's kind of like hunting her in a way, because you were
20:06
really I really, really like these eyes.
20:08
Like the eyes watching her, the eyes and the painting, the eyes
20:11
and the dog. Like all these little bits, like
20:13
someone is watching her. I thought that was excellent.
20:17
And just what you were saying, Lucy, and this ties back to what
20:21
you were saying Hannah initially about how this book, how Sonia
20:28
is, is given the advice not to write the stereotypes, not to
20:33
write the tropes of India because you're just going to
20:36
reinforce it. This book is full of stereotypes
20:40
and tropes, but it also challenges them at the same
20:43
time. So I I do agree with you.
20:45
I think that is a meta way for Kiran to accept that some tropes
20:55
have to be mentioned if you're going to be exploring these
20:59
characters. And some things are just part of
21:03
the culture, whether it's arranged marriage or Curry.
21:07
And I think that you just have to bite the bullet and just say,
21:11
look, some of these things aren't necessarily giving the
21:14
best impression. And but I think it was a very
21:18
smart and ingenious way to incorporate that and let the
21:24
reader know, like, just because these things are in the book
21:27
doesn't mean that that's all that India is.
21:31
There's way more to us. And we do kind of get a bit of
21:35
that explored. She has a lot of characters that
21:37
say a lot of stereotypes. There's two people I can think
21:40
of in particular, and Sunny's mum, who is my next favorite
21:44
character. I think she's so funny.
21:46
She says a lot of things about other people's races, but I kind
21:48
of almost felt like the really interesting thing about the fact
21:53
that at times there's like a really kind of cliched version
21:57
of, well, not really cliched, but like a version of India is
22:01
that I think Sunny is trying to figure out where he is because
22:06
he doesn't fit in with being Indian and he doesn't fit in
22:08
with being an American. And he's kind of sees, he sees
22:12
both in a trophy kind of way. He sees India in a certain way.
22:16
And he gets, I think at one point he gets quite angry at his
22:18
mom. And he's just like, you've,
22:20
you've raised me like this because she's so like it talks
22:23
about her going to different countries and being really
22:25
annoyed when there's not enough white people.
22:27
Like when she goes to London and she's like meets an Indian who's
22:31
obviously quite passionate about their history and is like the
22:35
British Museum has stolen loads of stuff.
22:38
And she's like, she doesn't want to hear that because she's so
22:40
like she believes it's, I think she, I would wish I had like a
22:46
specific quote, but it's almost like because they hold white
22:50
people and Europeans and Americans in such high esteem,
22:54
they become these ridiculous people.
22:57
And it's almost like with Sonia and Elan or Elan or whatever you
23:02
call them, and there's almost this thing of like an Elan
23:06
definitely treats her like that, like she's not quite, you know,
23:11
you know, she's not, she doesn't need to be treated like he
23:14
treats other women, you know, which I found really
23:17
interesting. But then there's also this, this
23:19
case of like, if you're going to put certain races on a pedestal,
23:25
you're, you're going to have to like deal with all these
23:28
consequences of that and, and the consequence of not thinking
23:31
that you're good enough, which I kind of found a really.
23:36
And again, it's like, we are three white people.
23:39
So maybe not the best people to discuss this, but it just made
23:42
me so sad to think that people think like that.
23:45
There was definitely a couple of bits in the book.
23:46
I was like, that must be such a horrible thing, coming from one
23:50
culture to another culture and revering that culture.
23:53
It's such a strange thing to be in that headspace, I imagine.
23:58
Well, I think that what happens in this novel is we get
24:03
caricatures, but they're also written in a way that they still
24:07
feel real and realistic. So you have the like, aunties
24:13
that are a bit over the top, but exactly how you would imagine
24:19
Indian aunties to be. And you even have the part where
24:24
I could have this wrong. But Sonny is in Italy, and an
24:30
Indian man approaches him and basically is like, oh, my
24:36
luggage hasn't arrived. I need some money.
24:39
And then he realizes that this guy's a scammer.
24:42
And he's kind of like, oh, like I was, I felt sorry.
24:47
I felt like fraternal connection with him here because like,
24:52
we're connecting over the fact that we're both Indian.
24:54
But now I feel like I'm being scammed by this guy.
24:57
Just really wanted to talk about is it Babita?
25:01
Sonny's mom. Yeah, I loved her.
25:04
I loved her so much. Loved her character.
25:07
She definitely struck me as almost like a Jane Austen S
25:09
character where it was like she was so where the talk with how
25:13
she behaved and I loved her like every time she was speaking,
25:17
anytime she was talking to anybody, her interactions with
25:20
other humans in various situations and yeah, the the
25:25
scrapes she got involved in. I love her.
25:28
She's great character and the part where she reflects back
25:31
like, oh, is it Ravi, her husband?
25:33
No, her husband is called Ratan. Ratan.
25:38
Or a Ratan. Yeah, she called him Ravi.
25:42
Yes, OK, so the parts where she like reflects back to Ravi and
25:46
the saying oh, if you live, I'll finally love you.
25:49
You know I love you. Please live.
25:51
How did you leave me in this way?
25:54
And then we find out that he didn't want to be involved in
25:59
corruption. But she's been like, if you're
26:01
only corrupt, you could have lived, you know?
26:05
I. Was just like are you for real?
26:08
I loved so I love the stuff about corruption.
26:11
So I love the stuff about corruption because I always
26:14
think that like any time that you hear about it, like some low
26:19
level corruption or anything like that, you always I think we
26:23
don't associate it with like our own country.
26:25
And I think that Sonny, I can't remember exactly where he was or
26:28
what he's doing, but he's like this happens in America, like
26:31
this happens in the West. We just don't it's not the same.
26:34
It's not as look like it's not police officers and it's not it
26:37
is at times, but it's like it's not as low level.
26:40
It's not like the officials doing just like getting small
26:44
amounts of money. It's like really big important
26:47
things as well. And I think that's something
26:49
that really interests me as well.
26:50
But the fact that it's like, I don't know if you guys remember,
26:53
but there's a bit where Sonia and Sonny, it's the first time
26:56
they meet, but they're on the train and he's like overhearing
27:01
judges talk about the whole Enron thing, which was a massive
27:04
scandal in America where the company was extremely
27:08
fraudulent. But it affected India probably
27:10
possibly more even than it affected America.
27:12
But it was like massive and massive, massive.
27:14
But we don't. Something I tried to remember
27:17
from when I kind of researched it ages and ages ago.
27:20
I think I read a book about it or something.
27:22
But I remember it was like they were putting pop up companies
27:25
all throughout India hiring loads of people.
27:28
And then they it all fell apart when the fraud was discovered.
27:31
But it was, it was like, I think it was one of the top ten
27:34
companies in America at the time.
27:36
We talk about Babita, even her dynamic of hiring the two
27:39
servant girls and then going after when the father died.
27:49
MENA Foy's father dies, they try and the mother has already
27:53
passed as well. And then they try and steal the
27:56
cook because he makes really good kebabs.
27:58
And I just made me laugh that they're like, you've got to
28:02
seize your moment and get the best cook when you can.
28:05
I think that's followed. I was on her side.
28:08
If they make good kebabs, like if anyone makes an excellent
28:11
food item, I'm like, please come by, please make it.
28:14
I will have you in my life forever, please and thanks.
28:18
But in going back to like the serving girls like Babita, it's
28:23
that thing where she just thinks she's so like high and mighty in
28:25
that way of like I have these two girls and they don't make
28:28
the best food, but I'm teaching them.
28:30
Oh, yes, When she goes to America and she's with Sunny and
28:35
comes back and it's like, yes, I'm teaching the girls how to
28:37
make Knocky, and this chef from America is just going to come
28:40
and stay with us for a few days. I just thought this is so random
28:46
to have in the novel. I don't know.
28:48
It's just. Yeah.
28:50
I was so anxious for them, like I was yes, see the when the
28:55
whole like on the whole brothel thing.
28:57
That was that whole thing confused.
29:00
Well, didn't I don't know if it confused me, but I was like, you
29:03
know, we do find out whether or not that they are fine.
29:07
They're they're safe. But like for a while we think
29:11
that these two servant girls who one of them as well, like
29:15
there's the neighbor who's like being a real creature and she's
29:19
really like 13 or 14. And that really scared me.
29:24
And then there's like there's some of the driver, which I
29:28
think is more consensual, but the fact that one of them is
29:30
prostituting themselves in like the brothel nearby and like
29:36
Babita doesn't know. And then like.
29:39
And she thinks she's protecting them by having them as her
29:42
servant girls. In a way, yeah.
29:45
Oh, I find that quite upsetting. I was thinking, was the novel
29:48
gone to touch on? When I first started to read it,
29:51
I wondered if the novel was going to touch on about women in
29:54
India. Just I know like there is that
29:59
like statistics and stuff right there about like things like
30:02
gang rapes and women. The part for me that I felt very
30:07
anxious at times. So there's like 2 parts to this.
30:10
So the 1 is when Sonia is on the solo track and she's been sent
30:14
to write the magazine article and she just happens to be like
30:18
slightly friendly to the man who brought her there.
30:20
And while she's in, she's safe in a hotel room.
30:23
He's trying to climb in and he assaults her and they're just
30:26
going to be. So I was really upset after I'd
30:30
read that because isn't it just relates back to the idea of
30:34
being a woman and not feeling safe.
30:37
And then the second part was when like Fabita and Sonia are
30:43
like at different times in Go Goa and this the idea that they
30:48
both don't feel safe at times because they feel that either
30:53
people are watching them or that they're vulnerable because
30:56
they're single women, you know, on their own.
30:59
I don't know, Demi. You guys feel like I'm just.
31:02
I felt so anxious with the that man that was because he's quite
31:06
nice to her and then they're kind of getting on, but she
31:09
obviously knows something's a bit funny.
31:11
So she she kind of is like ends their conversation and then he
31:16
takes that very badly. There was such a like, I don't
31:19
know if it was right at that bit, but there was something
31:21
that Sonya says and she's just about like the anger of men.
31:24
And I find that that was really like have underlined somewhere.
31:30
But it was, I thought it was really like poignant just about
31:32
the idea that it's like you see that anger like as a woman in
31:36
all men when they're rejected or when anything kind of happens.
31:40
And like just the idea that that anger is something you can do
31:43
nothing about. And it's like you can't make
31:45
them all in one way. It's like you either you don't,
31:48
you don't really have an option. It's like you're either a
31:51
horrible person and you get attacked anyway, or you just let
31:55
you know what I mean. There was no option for her
31:57
there. There was no way she could go
32:00
where she wasn't going to be victimized in some way, so I
32:03
felt really strongly for her there.
32:06
I do like the idea of Abita and Sonya's relationship.
32:11
You know, at the start she's like, oh, they're only giving us
32:15
their daughter because there was a bad deal made with the
32:19
grandfather and oh, you doesn't, She doesn't want Sonya in their
32:24
life. And she just sees her as this
32:26
like horrible person in the end. I just love that very kind of
32:33
find a way to be friends to enjoy each other's company.
32:38
I didn't know. I really like that.
32:40
I think female friendship for me, I love to see in a way, and
32:46
especially UMM for them, like 2 characters have a perception of
32:50
each other which isn't great and then they're able to kind of
32:52
reconcile anyway. I quite enjoyed that part of the
32:55
novel. What did you guys think of the
32:58
love story aspects between Sonia and Sunny?
33:02
I found myself throughout thinking hoping that they didn't
33:08
end up together. I liked the idea of them being
33:15
like a missed connection where it's like right person but not
33:20
the right place or right time. And I kind of, I think it kind
33:25
of ended that way and how it ended, like maybe they rekindle
33:29
things. It also felt to me like they had
33:33
died, maybe that they had reconnected in the afterlife.
33:38
Oh, I know what you mean. Yeah, yeah, when they're
33:40
floating in the water. Yeah, yeah.
33:43
Because I like, I don't, I because I was listening.
33:46
I don't really know if that was supposed to be real life or not,
33:51
but it just felt too convenient that I think he turned around
33:54
and she was there or she turned around and he was there, and
33:56
then they just go swimming in the ocean and I was like, what?
34:00
Like what? This doesn't make sense.
34:03
That was a part I actually, I usually don't, I think romance
34:08
is a genre that I do like, but I think it has, it has to be done
34:11
right. And I think it's something that
34:12
has been done really well in the book because I, it kind of just
34:16
almost, it was like, oh, they, they like each other when they
34:19
saw each other on the train or when he saw her on the train and
34:22
then when he saw her visiting her house and she didn't go and
34:26
she was into quite a bit of detail about some things, but
34:28
she didn't go into much detail. And then I was all of a sudden
34:31
it was like, oh, they're meeting in Goa and they're having ago.
34:37
No, no, no. We Lucy, do you think they don't
34:41
end up together in the end? No, they do.
34:43
They definitely end up. Together.
34:45
OK, your head was shaking earlier and I couldn't tell what
34:47
part you were disagreeing with. Sorry, Aaron, they.
34:52
Yeah. And talk together.
34:55
Yeah, the I'm so I'm like half and half of both of you in that.
35:01
Part of me was thinking, oh, it's so cliche that at the end
35:05
of the novel they find each other and end up back together
35:07
again. But in a way, I almost really
35:10
liked it as well. So I don't know.
35:15
It was fine that big. But is it the idea, though, that
35:19
you have to go and find yourself or.
35:24
Yeah, I guess that's like you need to find yourself instead
35:28
of, you know, placing all that burden or like on your other
35:31
person. You know, I don't think I'm
35:33
explaining myself very right. But it wasn't going to work out
35:36
when they had their own troubles that they couldn't see past.
35:40
Is that kind of. Yeah, one more veteran maybe.
35:43
I'm saying that. So I like that each of them has
35:45
kind of had their own awakening or or whatnot in a way to come
35:49
back together. But what about little ornaments?
35:53
I just I'm saying amulet because I'm not trying to.
35:55
Amulet. That's it.
35:57
Yeah, I was confused. But well, so, so let's just
36:02
explain it. The amulet, the amulet was of a
36:06
demon. And the idea is you have this
36:10
demon to protect you against other demons.
36:14
And yeah, she gives it to Elan because he's going through a bad
36:21
spell or something. And she's like, look here, this
36:24
will protect you. They end up breaking up and he
36:28
keeps it. And then she feels cursed for
36:32
basically the rest of the novel because she no longer has her
36:35
demon to protect her. I oh, sorry, sorry.
36:40
Yeah. I was going to say I really
36:42
loved that part of it. I thought it was like the, it's
36:44
the real magical realism of it and the fact that, like, her
36:46
grandfather painted it, but she didn't know her grandfather
36:49
painted it until later on. And like, there's just so much
36:52
stuff that I just thought was really cool about that.
36:54
And yeah, I really like that part.
36:56
Oh, it's the part where Sonya lies to her mother and she's
36:58
like, where is it? And she's like, oh, it's not
37:01
like, what did she say? Like oh, I left it somewhere or
37:05
I can't remember in particular, but.
37:07
She said she left at a friend's house because it would have been
37:09
safer than her own house, I think.
37:12
And it just makes me laugh, thinking, nothing where your
37:15
parents are, like, where is it? And you're like, it's just in a
37:19
box somewhere, You know, it's fine.
37:21
And then my head, I'm usually like, oh God, I've lost this.
37:24
I have no idea where it is. That was a relatable moment for
37:29
the novel. What did you guys think of and
37:33
this part? I really like Sonny's friend
37:37
Sacha and his wife Pooja. I love that part.
37:44
But I was so concerned that when he stopped speaking to Sunny
37:47
that that was going to be their story over.
37:49
And I was like, I have to know how this ends up.
37:51
Yeah. So they get an Irene.
37:54
Well, they have a love marriage. So basically this Sunny's friend
38:00
who lives in Rochester and he is like, he wants to do the whole
38:06
traditional arranged marriage kind of thing where he goes back
38:09
to India and Sonny comes with him and they both are on the
38:13
lookout for a wife for him. And he he doesn't like any of
38:18
the ones from any arrangements. But then he goes to like a, I'm
38:22
going to say like an astrologer astrologist, and they say all
38:27
these things about where he's going to meet his wife and then
38:31
be. The red suitcase, I love that
38:33
particular part. Sorry, this idea that the Revere
38:36
red suitcase involved you have a go on.
38:38
Yeah, so like this person just tells them something ridiculous.
38:40
Anyway, he starts to look for this person that the astrologist
38:43
has told them like the information based on that
38:46
information, but he actually falls in love with this woman
38:49
from sight. And he's like, right, we're
38:51
getting married and obviously she has no input into that
38:55
whatsoever. So she's just like, right, I'm,
38:57
I'm getting married now. And then their, their wedding
39:00
day happens. And it's so it's so interesting
39:04
because you do kind of get the vibe from both of them that they
39:06
don't hate each other, but she's in this new situation that's
39:09
horrific. And he's so anxious about it in
39:13
certain ways. Like he's really jealous of
39:15
Sunny and how easy Sunny finds it to like speak to people and
39:19
have conversations with people. And then so he's kind of anxious
39:22
about that and he really takes it out on Sunny and he takes it
39:26
out to an extent and his wife. And then he stops speaking to
39:29
Sunny. So we don't know what's
39:30
happening between him and his wife.
39:32
And then we find out that he takes her to America and she is
39:39
horrified by everything. She can't speak the language,
39:41
can't speak English. She's too scared.
39:43
She. Doesn't want to wear the jeans.
39:45
Yeah, she's too scared to wear her trousers and like all these
39:48
things. And you and I actually that was
39:50
that was one of the points that I think I felt the most anxious.
39:53
I was like, how horrible would that be?
39:55
It's very flashlight going over to Japan or coming over from
40:00
Japan to America. I felt so anxious for this poor
40:04
woman. And she's just like dusting the
40:06
house all day, but there's not enough dust.
40:08
And she's like, she's so, like, it just seemed so horrible for
40:12
her. And the part where he says you
40:14
need to be more American, you know, to fit in, and this is
40:17
particularly about like 911 and they they're putting up flags
40:21
and everything to try and fit in.
40:23
And yeah, I felt so sorry for that point, because how
40:28
different was a cultural shock completely to that?
40:33
Yeah, Something that I'm really interesting about their kind of
40:36
dynamic as well was she was doing all these things that she
40:39
thought that like an Indian bride should do.
40:41
So be quiet. Like don't, don't suggest
40:44
things. Like wait until someone's
40:46
suggested something to you. And like what's?
40:49
That for dinner. Yeah.
40:51
But also I think that when she's in America as well, she's kind
40:54
of like, she's obviously really frightened of like voicing like
40:58
giving herself a voice. Whereas obviously Satya wants an
41:03
American wife in some ways. Obviously he doesn't, but he
41:06
does, but he also doesn't. So he's like really torn of this
41:09
kind of like she won't come out of her shell, but she can't come
41:13
out of her shell because she doesn't think that he wants her
41:15
to come out of her. You know, I mean, it's, it's
41:17
that kind of angle of like what what you do in that scenario,
41:21
but like something And then, and then basically one day he just
41:24
leaves and drives away because he can't deal with work and some
41:29
other things and he goes somewhere and then she and she's
41:32
been trying to take like driving lessons and stuff.
41:34
Yeah, this is the part that got me.
41:36
Yeah. Yeah.
41:38
So she. Because he's in a bookshop.
41:41
Yeah, she like. And then he asked her how she
41:43
got there and she was like, oh, I I took the.
41:46
What do they call it? Like a freeway or highway?
41:49
I can't. I don't know.
41:50
But yeah, she drives the way to the bookshop to go get him.
41:55
And I was like, oh, that was really cute.
41:58
I love that part. It was really, really sweet.
42:01
And the fact that he flies all the way to Mexico to tell Sunny
42:05
about this, to see his friend and, like, make amends, I
42:08
thought it was very sweet. And it's nice to see like, male
42:12
friendship in that way too. Yeah, I love that whole
42:15
storyline because I think it, it really kind of dived in with the
42:18
like cultural norms and how they are.
42:21
There's such a shock in America and I think Sonny does it, but
42:23
Sonny is so Western anyway. It's like Sonny's so hyper
42:26
critical of everything and so hyper.
42:28
He's almost like a W. He is just a Western character
42:31
who kind of feels like he should belong to India as well, but he
42:35
he feels very, I imagine as, as I am a Western reader, he has a
42:40
lot of the same opinions that I would have about things.
42:43
And but whereas Sacha's friend doesn't.
42:46
And I feel like I just, I loved Sacha seemed to be like, I like
42:53
he had all these like emotions and he just acted on them, you
42:56
know, like he was jealous of Sunny and he acts on it
42:58
immediately. And, and he wants to be more
43:01
Indian. And like, I think Sunny's
43:03
talking about him and he's like, he's however, I think he's like,
43:06
he sits a certain way, like, and Sunny thinks it's really
43:10
disingenuous the way that Sacha is getting on.
43:13
I loved that whole just, I think throughout the book, the culture
43:16
clash, I think it was done so well with those two characters.
43:19
I loved Sunny. I really connected with him on
43:21
the journalism stuff, just even the way that he thought about
43:26
things where he was like, oh, I need to like come up with a good
43:29
story. And he's like interviewing
43:33
someone who he interviews the, the guy with the longest
43:37
fingernails and then like that guy contacts him or the daughter
43:42
contacts him. And it's like, how dare you say
43:46
these things? You like painted me in a bad
43:49
light or whatever. And I'm like, whenever I go and
43:54
have interviewed people in the past, I am like, OK, I don't
43:57
want to paint this person in a bad light, but like, all I can
44:01
do is present how they've presented themselves.
44:04
And like, I am like, I do have that thought process of, OK,
44:10
come up with a story that is like interesting and that is
44:14
actually going to like get attention within or get me
44:18
recognition within, like The Newsroom.
44:21
And so, yeah, I just, I thought that was really well done.
44:25
How he's constantly like has that frame of mind.
44:30
I love that story with the fingernail man because it was
44:33
like, yeah. And he's obviously so
44:36
Westernized. And it's like the idea that your
44:40
family would be proud of you for that is still not wet.
44:43
Like, like I imagine you said, oh, I'm not going to be doing
44:47
any work anymore because I'm growing my fingernails or like,
44:53
cannot think of a family member that would be proud of me.
44:55
Well, Donna, and you're doing quite well.
44:57
I know I need to have my fingernails cut down as short as
45:02
possible because if there's any kind of click clackety or it
45:06
gives me the weirdest feeling. I have no idea how that man did
45:09
it for so long. But I did look up and I I
45:12
searched him on Google just to see how he's doing and he has
45:16
cut his, his fingernails, no. Maybe a bit of work around the
45:20
house. That would be so annoying.
45:23
It was like his family were so proud and I was like that.
45:26
That would not cut. You could not have.
45:27
You could not have a news story in Ireland where you interviewed
45:32
the family of a man who has grown his fingernails to the
45:36
point that he can do nothing in his life.
45:39
And you, you know, his daughter would be like, I hate him.
45:42
Why has he done this? But everybody in his family is
45:46
like, so great. What a spiritual amazing thing.
45:49
And I think that Sunny has probably written it, this
45:53
article in the lens of like a Western person going to what are
45:57
you doing? But like, again, if anybody
46:00
wants to grow their fingernails out, like fair enough, go for
46:02
it. I.
46:03
Like the idea as well that Sonia is a rider.
46:07
What are your thoughts on the fact that Sonny's family was
46:12
involved in this corruption and his uncles end up getting
46:16
murdered? But also Sonny is like accepting
46:20
like one and a half million or something like and he knows that
46:27
it's like come from the black market.
46:29
Yeah, because you we later find out in like in this part of the
46:33
novel that he got a scholarship to go to America and then the
46:39
second year he doesn't get the scholarship.
46:41
So then he has to rely on, I think is it his grandparents or
46:45
someone at the time? And they basically are like,
46:48
here's the money, but don't ask how we got it and he accepts it.
46:51
But then is so critical of corruption.
46:55
And then we find out that the two uncles get murdered.
46:58
Ultimately, this is what leads to the end of Sonia and Sonia's
47:03
relationship, where Sonia is like, I'm going to let him
47:07
contact me. Like his family are involved in
47:10
some kind of corruption scandal, so I'm not going to reach out to
47:14
him. He can make the move and he just
47:16
never makes the move to like contact her again.
47:18
But I thought with that one, though, that the ball was in
47:23
Sunny's court and he, after the whole alarm thing, didn't want
47:28
to get back with Sonya. I don't think it was.
47:32
I think Sonya almost knew that herself.
47:33
So she didn't contact him. I and she I felt like she used
47:37
the excuse of the uncles and that whole situation to be like,
47:41
This is why we haven't continued because that's a good,
47:43
respectable reason to to to no longer have a boyfriend is that
47:49
his family were involved in high level crime.
47:51
I. Really want to talk about coming
47:53
up to the end, this idea of the hind following Sonia, these eyes
47:58
watching her, and then these things that she's talking about
48:01
come come true in a way. So she's in the water and the
48:04
snakes are following her, and then she's in the water and this
48:08
hind is there watching her. I loved those moments of the
48:13
novel. I really, really did.
48:16
I thought when she goes to Italy and she goes to the museum and
48:20
she sees the drawings of herself, I was, I thought I was
48:25
brilliantly done. I thought it was terrifying and,
48:27
and again, like the drawings of things that he wouldn't have
48:30
seen but have appeared in her life.
48:33
And that is when it really twists where you go.
48:36
I know that she had that kind of little demon amulet and you're
48:39
kind of like, that's a bit weird.
48:40
That's a bit funny. And she had kind of lost her
48:42
face in the same way that like it talks about losing face.
48:44
But then it was like it very much went into the territory of
48:48
this is magical realism. Now we're we're in, we've
48:52
crossed. We're in, we're in.
48:55
I have thoughts on this. This is one of the things.
49:02
This is one of the things that I wanted to bring up.
49:04
Is this the air take? On the novel that will.
49:07
Probably I think I think it is, and I could be completely wrong
49:11
here because I only listened through to the audio book once
49:15
and it was on like 2.5 speed, so please forgive me if I have
49:23
wrongly interpreted this. The novel does lean heavily into
49:29
the hound being almost like a demon that is haunting her and
49:36
and it's described as the ghost hound.
49:42
I googled what a ghost hound is and it's literally just a breed
49:46
of dog, a white Indian breed of dog.
49:48
So it's not actually like a mystical demon, it's just a
49:54
breed of dog, which Indian readers might realize, oh, this
50:00
is just a bead of dog, but if you aren't going to go out of
50:03
your way to look it up and you aren't Indian, then I think you
50:07
will think it is some kind of ghostly presence.
50:11
I do think it is a ghostly presence, like I think it might
50:14
be a technical breed of dog as well, but it's disappeared.
50:19
It comes out of nowhere. A man who's not there at the
50:22
time is able to draw it, have it appear in a gallery.
50:26
And it's. I yeah, I think it is magical
50:30
realism. I would I would have to disagree
50:33
with Aaron's take for the week. I don't think it's a real dog.
50:36
Strap in, because I could be going way off the rails here,
50:40
but loneliness is, I would say, the major theme of this novel.
50:46
It's literally in the title. The loneliness of Sonia and
50:50
Sonny animals throughout represents loneliness.
50:56
So if you think about at the very beginning, Sonya is
51:01
incredibly lonely because she's in Vermont at university over
51:05
Christmas. There's no other students there
51:07
apart from a couple of international students.
51:10
The only creature she has to keep her company is a squirrel
51:14
that is living in the attic. I think that the animals are
51:20
loneliness personified. She hates that that is here.
51:23
I think it actually reminds her that she's alone because she has
51:27
its presence around her, so that is why she hates it so much.
51:32
Then there's several points throughout where characters,
51:37
when they're at their most lonely, are surrounded by a a
51:42
pet or an animal. So you have the mother who goes
51:47
off to live up in the mountains, but she goes up with her cat.
51:51
And the cat is her excuse as to why she won't integrate herself
51:55
back into society because she, she says like, oh, that cat
52:00
needs feds and the cat needs let out and let in.
52:03
So I, I, I can't leave the cat, but she's basically making
52:07
herself lonely and going away and secluding herself from
52:14
society. Then we have when Sonia and
52:17
Sunny start to link up with each other, that's when the ghost
52:23
hound is introduced. But it's rabid or at least they,
52:27
they think that it's, it's a rabid dog that's loneliness
52:30
starting to die because they have found each other and
52:33
they're no longer being lonely because they are with each
52:37
other. Whenever they reconnect again in
52:41
Italy, they see a bird get killed and a squid die.
52:47
So the animals loneliness literally dies in front of them.
52:51
Loneliness no longer exists. Whenever they hug each other,
52:54
they hug each other like dying squids or dying octopi.
52:58
So I was like, OK, they, they are no longer lonely because
53:02
they have found each other. All the animals around them are
53:05
now non existent. They've they've died and after
53:09
they then split up and and go their own ways, that's when
53:12
animals start being introduced again, which represents
53:17
loneliness being in their lives again.
53:19
Wait, though, you've just described how throughout the
53:22
whole book there are animals? Just the idea that you would you
53:27
would go, how am I going to show people being less lonely?
53:31
Like what? What metaphor can I use?
53:33
And Karen Desai's gone. Do you know what a rabid dog
53:35
that explains the death of loneliness.
53:39
And everyone's going to pick up on that metaphor.
53:42
How am I going to show that they're not lonely anymore?
53:45
I'm. A Rob the exploding squid thing,
53:48
you're I was like, OK, maybe I could see where you're going.
53:52
But then the idea of like giving a hug exploding squid.
53:55
No no no, they're described as dying octopi or dying squid
54:01
whenever they hug each other. Like I'm not making that up.
54:03
That is actually how they're described after the fact.
54:06
And what? About the aisles, I'm.
54:08
Throwing the some animals back at you the aisle with Sonia.
54:13
Is that loneliness? Again.
54:14
Well, that that's that's yes, because loneliness is starting
54:16
to creep back into her life. I wish Colin was here.
54:20
Yeah. Colin.
54:20
Colin. Yeah, Colin's quite diplomatic
54:23
with you. I think he's quite nice.
54:25
I think that. No, no.
54:26
I think Colin would shut that down and be like, what are you
54:28
talking about? Yeah, hold on.
54:30
I'll do it. I can do it, Aaron.
54:37
I think, no, I could do what I think Colin would say right now.
54:41
Sure, Colin. Sorry.
54:43
I don't even know who he's doing anymore because you've got the
54:48
same voice. I know exactly what Colin would
54:52
do. He would just go.
54:53
Sure, Aaron. Yeah, if you want it to be true.
54:57
And I think that that's also true.
54:59
Sure, Aaron. I really liked the idea that
55:01
sunny world season Mexico goes and finds Elan and tries to get
55:08
the amulet amulet back and then he has to wait until he leaves
55:13
and then sneaks in and he thinks there's a woman there.
55:17
See this is the part where I can't decide if there was a
55:20
really a woman there or there wasn't.
55:22
Or is this like the magical realism type thing?
55:24
Oh, she's not real. She's not real.
55:27
I think she's, I think she's Sonia.
55:30
Well, yeah, because he says he can see Sonia like in her.
55:34
And Sonia comes, she has that dream where she's like back
55:37
there, like she's in that place, and she recognizes all the
55:41
things in Mexico of where Ilan was.
55:44
OK, I see. I missed that.
55:47
I thought she was real. I thought that she had just been
55:50
making herself not seen to begin with.
55:54
And I don't mean like invisible. I just mean she was like maybe
56:00
so part of the furniture that Sonny just hadn't noticed her
56:05
and because she has to be so docile around Elaine.
56:08
And I seen it more as he's repeating the cycle of like, he
56:16
was already 30 years older than Sonia to begin with.
56:20
So now he's got an an even younger woman and he's put her
56:26
in the same position. And I thought that Sonny was
56:29
like, Oh no, this man is going to keep repeating this.
56:32
So I need to step in here. Well.
56:34
When he says like, well, well, they're like, oh, Elan's coming
56:38
back, he's coming back. And then he says we'll meet me
56:41
back at that like hotel and then we can leave.
56:44
And then she never comes. And then we find out that Elan
56:48
is presumably dead because he never like appears again.
56:53
Like am I? Being really stupid, but there's
56:57
another bit where she's like hiding in a cup of closet and.
57:01
Then yes, yes, yes. Oh, it's.
57:03
In the hotel. Yeah, she goes to the hotel.
57:07
She wraps Yeah, the door like he lets her in.
57:09
She sleeps in the cupboard and then the next morning, she's not
57:13
there. She's gone.
57:15
And then he ends up going, yeah. Sorry we had I thought he went
57:19
and like this is could be completely wrong but I thought
57:21
he went and he like someone knocked in the door and he went
57:23
to answer the door and they were like where is I don't know if
57:26
I'm making this up but they asked him something and then he
57:28
went. He just seen her in the wardrobe
57:31
and then he opened it again and she wasn't there, which me and
57:34
me think she wouldn't. She didn't exist.
57:36
I think that this book, partly because it's so massive with how
57:42
many pages it has, but it feels like it has summarized every
57:48
other book that we have read in this shortlist.
57:51
Audition is about mother and son dynamic, which is explored
57:56
between Sonny and his mother. We have The Land in Winter,
58:02
which from my understanding without having read it, is about
58:06
relationship dynamics and that is explored within this.
58:10
And I'm sorry, just to interject, I think relationship
58:13
dynamics are explored in all of the books.
58:16
Yes but but like couple like partnership and from my
58:22
understanding I could be completely wrong and then
58:26
flashlight is about living between 2:00 or multiple like
58:32
backgrounds and trying to fit in.
58:34
Culture. Client again, yes, this book
58:38
really delves into that. Then we have The Rest of our
58:42
Lives, which examines America, but also a father's relationship
58:49
with his family and kind of like missed opportunities, which I
58:55
feel like this also explores. And you have the cancer plot
58:59
line. Then we have Flesh, which is
59:04
about growing up in a country where you're not the most
59:11
privileged and then going elsewhere, somewhere maybe more
59:17
Western, and being provided with further opportunities and kind
59:26
of jumping on that. And you have the age gap
59:30
relationship as well. So I feel like this book really
59:35
like ticks all of the boxes of the themes from the other books
59:39
and maybe to a certain degree does it better.
59:43
I think you're right. I think I suppose some of the
59:45
stuff maybe like relationships, Yeah, I think it does do a lot
59:50
of things, but I think it does definitely does like culture
59:53
clash, I think better than flesh and I think it does it better
59:56
than flashlight maybe as well. I think it's maybe more nuanced.
1:00:00
Then flashlight, which I think I preferred, but even then it's
1:00:05
not that it's not more nuanced because it's mentioned like
1:00:06
constantly. It's just it's kind of done in a
1:00:09
very relatable way. And I think it does family
1:00:13
relationships 1000 times better than the rest of our lives.
1:00:17
I do know that I think it does relationship this is I don't
1:00:20
think it's better than audition. I think auditions very good, but
1:00:24
I do really like, I think it's my second Sonia and Sonia, I
1:00:28
think it's very, very good. I do think, yeah, the different
1:00:31
themes sort of interlock or like you can see them in through all
1:00:36
the different novels, which kind of makes a bit more sense to me
1:00:38
compared to like the international list where I was
1:00:41
constantly thinking, how do these all link up or, you know,
1:00:47
why have these ones kind of been chosen?
1:00:50
But yeah, I can kind of see the things that you've been talking
1:00:51
about throughout this entire novel.
1:00:53
So I've again, I'm going to discuss this, but I've messed up
1:00:56
my ratings completely, but I think I'm going to give it a
1:00:58
four out of five. But I really enjoyed it.
1:00:59
I thought it was very well written.
1:01:01
I didn't find for his book, as long as it is definitely wasn't
1:01:05
as boring as flashlight at times and I find it definitely more
1:01:08
entertaining than the solid 1 London Winter, which I find
1:01:14
boring as well. But yeah, I really, really
1:01:17
enjoyed it. I thought there was a lot to a
1:01:19
lot, a lot really well done. And so I was very, very happy
1:01:23
with its inclusion on the list and I'd be happy if it won.
1:01:25
I don't know that it will win. She's already won four, so will
1:01:29
she? Will she win again and again?
1:01:32
I'd be very happy if this was a winner.
1:01:34
Another Indian Booker winner for the year would also be really
1:01:37
nice. Yeah, I'm going to agree with
1:01:39
you. I'm giving this a four out of
1:01:40
five. I think it did a lot of things
1:01:43
well. I definitely can't give it a 5
1:01:47
because I would need to read it again and see if it is pushed
1:01:52
over the line. I I still don't think it it
1:01:55
could be pushed over the line for me.
1:01:57
It's just not my particular type of book.
1:02:01
But if it deserved A5 I would give it a 5 after a reread And I
1:02:04
I am not opposed to rereading this one at all.
1:02:08
I actually think I would really enjoy to go back through it.
1:02:12
Yeah, I I've enjoyed our discussion on it and it for how
1:02:17
big of a book it is, I thought it was a lot easier to read than
1:02:23
I was expecting. I wouldn't mind if there's book
1:02:25
1. I'm kind of the same with both
1:02:27
of you. So yeah, firstly I think I
1:02:31
messed up my ratings and that I've given some books maybe
1:02:35
higher marks than it should have or when I should have maybe been
1:02:38
a bit lower. But for me, I'm going to give it
1:02:42
a 3.75. It's not quite a four.
1:02:45
I think I was waiting for a moment or like, I think for me
1:02:48
when a book hits a four or like kind of above, it's like there's
1:02:52
this one particular moment that there's like it all clicks or
1:02:55
something for me. Or I sit there and have to think
1:02:57
about it for a moment. And whilst I think this book was
1:02:59
really good, I don't know, there wasn't that complete bit that
1:03:03
hit me to get it right over to a floor.
1:03:06
But completely with Aaron in that this is the longest book
1:03:10
I've read I think ever. And it never felt at times that
1:03:15
it was like dragging for me. I was happily flicking through
1:03:18
it when comparing it to flashlight.
1:03:21
There was moments where I'm thinking this book could have
1:03:23
been condensed. But for me, I don't think this
1:03:27
book should have or could be, you know, condensed and into a
1:03:33
shorter novel. And I loved all the different
1:03:37
themes and the family dynamics and all the little characters in
1:03:41
it. There's like, there's so many to
1:03:42
pick as a favorite. But if this was the win, I
1:03:46
wouldn't, I wouldn't mind. I wouldn't at all.
1:03:49
I think it was a really good novel.
1:03:50
And yeah, overall please for that.
1:03:53
One thing that I do think it lacked because it's quite
1:03:57
worldwide, but I was hoping for more stuff on our homeland of
1:04:03
Australia to be kind of mentioned.
1:04:05
As for Australian podcasters, I thought that, you know, I just,
1:04:10
I kind of thought they could have gone to Australia for a
1:04:11
bit. That's just what my thoughts
1:04:13
were on the whole thing. Shout out to Book for, you know,
1:04:16
for really nailing our accents there.
1:04:20
But what? To be honest, what they lack for
1:04:23
in the ability to discern accents, they more than make up
1:04:27
for in the ability to podcast. Their podcast is unreal.
1:04:31
You you actually need to listen to it.
1:04:32
It's so good. It was so fun, yeah.
1:04:36
I loved it. Read along and share your
1:04:37
thoughts on Instagram at Bookies favorite book club.
1:04:41
You can also e-mail us.bookiesfavoritebookclub@gmail.com.
1:04:45
Well, guys, that's our six books in six weeks and we finally made
1:04:49
it through the Booker Pies shortlist.
1:04:52
So you'll have to tune in for our next few episodes where
1:04:55
we'll be covering the, well, our predictions and who we think are
1:04:59
going to win and who we would like to win, and then our
1:05:03
overall, our reaction to the Booker Prize winner.
1:05:07
So subscribe on whatever podcast platform you're listening on so
1:05:10
you don't miss the next episodes.
1:05:12
Share this episode with a book lover you think would like this
1:05:15
book. Rate the podcast 5 stars and
1:05:19
left and on a final quote. If you don't have love, you
1:05:24
don't properly exist. If you don't properly exist, you
1:05:27
don't have love. Bye.