JULY 2018 - AudioFile
After Pival loses both her husband and her son to sudden death, she makes the surprising decision to leave her home in Kolkata, India, to travel across America in hopes of understanding what her son loved about his adopted country. Narrator Soneela Nankani handily meets the principal challenge of this audiobook: rendering the characters’ variety of accents and different levels of proficiency with English. Through a New York agency specializing in Indian tourists, Pival hires a young American woman to serve as a companion and a male Bangladeshi tour guide; the trio has little in common except that each faces an uncertain future. As the journey unfolds, Nankani’s delivery reflects the group's developing ease with each other as well as their inner growth and self-discovery. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
07/16/2018
Franqui’s debut is a satisfying, heartfelt novel about three strangers whose lives are altered on a trip across the U.S. Widow Pival Sengupta is a quietly determined Bengali woman intent on leaving Kolkata for the first time to discover what really happened to her son, Rahi, in the U.S. After Rahi came out to his parents as gay nearly a year ago, Pival’s late husband told her Rahi died suddenly, but she refuses to believe it. Satya Roy is a young, inexperienced travel guide chosen by his boss to lead Pival on the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour under the guise of being Bengali, although he’s Bangladeshi. Rebecca Elliot is a young, struggling actress with poor impulse control who is also along on the tour. Satya pretends to be knowledgeable in Americana as the trio travel from New York across the country, and Satya and Rebecca are under the mistaken impression that Pival is fascinated by the tour stops, but she’s actually biding her time until they reach Los Angeles. Interspersed through the travels are chapters about Rahi and his relationship with his partner, Jacob. In this story of mistaken impressions, Franqui adroitly balances all the characters, making them distinct and refreshing. Readers will be taken by this emotionally rewarding novel. (July)
From the Publisher
A tender, funny, wrenching, beautifully executed tale of three lost souls who traverse the chasms of cultural, generational, and geographical divides to forge some bonds strong and true enough to withstand life’s gut punches.” — Library Journal (starred review)
“Extremely moving…gorgeous.” — New York Post
“Complex and well-drawn characters… America for Beginners has something—or someone—for everyone.” — Washington Times
“The pleasure of this smart, mild-mannered novel is that, through its juxtapositions, the reader, too, begins to see the country afresh.” — Wall Street Journal
“A satisfying, heartfelt novel… Franqui adroitly balances all the characters, making them distinct and refreshing. Readers will be taken by this emotionally rewarding novel.” — Publishers Weekly
“Compassionate and funny, America For Beginners delves into the complications of family as three unlikely companions venture across a country that challenges their understanding of themselves. A charming debut by a fresh new voice.” — Brit Bennett, author of The Mothers
“Franqui deftly juggles her characters’ competing perspectives, mining small moments in the narrative for larger insights into cultural and personal differences… This is a humorous and heartfelt excursion into the promise that America represents, to both natives and immigrants, and an emotional examination of what that promise means in practice — Booklist
“A heartfelt novel about forgiveness and acceptance.” — Real Simple
“Compelling… a strong contemporary story about cross-cultural alliances, the bonds of family and what it means to ‘learn America.’” — USA Today
“It’s everything you would want it to be: funny, heartwarming, sad and illuminating … America for Beginners is absorbing and alive and will make you laugh, cry and think about what it means to belong.” — Amazon Book Review
“America for Beginners will take you on a truly extraordinary cross-country journey.” — Hello Giggles
“A funny, feel-good cross-country tale… exactly the kind of story that we could use right now — people of different backgrounds coming together and realizing that they are more similar than assumed.” — AM New York
Booklist
Franqui deftly juggles her characters’ competing perspectives, mining small moments in the narrative for larger insights into cultural and personal differences… This is a humorous and heartfelt excursion into the promise that America represents, to both natives and immigrants, and an emotional examination of what that promise means in practice
Real Simple
A heartfelt novel about forgiveness and acceptance.
New York Post
Extremely moving…gorgeous.
Washington Times
Complex and well-drawn characters… America for Beginners has something—or someone—for everyone.
Brit Bennett
Compassionate and funny, America For Beginners delves into the complications of family as three unlikely companions venture across a country that challenges their understanding of themselves. A charming debut by a fresh new voice.
Wall Street Journal
The pleasure of this smart, mild-mannered novel is that, through its juxtapositions, the reader, too, begins to see the country afresh.
USA Today
Compelling… a strong contemporary story about cross-cultural alliances, the bonds of family and what it means to ‘learn America.’
Hello Giggles
America for Beginners will take you on a truly extraordinary cross-country journey.”
AM New York
A funny, feel-good cross-country tale… exactly the kind of story that we could use right now — people of different backgrounds coming together and realizing that they are more similar than assumed.
New York Post
Extremely moving…gorgeous.
Wall Street Journal
The pleasure of this smart, mild-mannered novel is that, through its juxtapositions, the reader, too, begins to see the country afresh.
Booklist
Franqui deftly juggles her characters’ competing perspectives, mining small moments in the narrative for larger insights into cultural and personal differences… This is a humorous and heartfelt excursion into the promise that America represents, to both natives and immigrants, and an emotional examination of what that promise means in practice
USA Today
Compelling… a strong contemporary story about cross-cultural alliances, the bonds of family and what it means to ‘learn America.’
Publisher's Weekly
A satisfying, heartfelt novel… Franqui adroitly balances all the characters, making them distinct and refreshing. Readers will be taken by this emotionally rewarding novel.
The Wall Street Journal
The pleasure of this smart, mild-mannered novel is that, through its juxtapositions, the reader, too, begins to see the country afresh.
Amita Trasi
I loved this beautiful, deeply human tale. Exquisitely written with humor and tenderness, this novel is a perceptive exploration of prejudice, cultural differences, the American dream, and ultimately, the kindness and love that binds us all—a timely reminder of life’s profound possibilities when we open our hearts. This is one magnificent read!
JULY 2018 - AudioFile
After Pival loses both her husband and her son to sudden death, she makes the surprising decision to leave her home in Kolkata, India, to travel across America in hopes of understanding what her son loved about his adopted country. Narrator Soneela Nankani handily meets the principal challenge of this audiobook: rendering the characters’ variety of accents and different levels of proficiency with English. Through a New York agency specializing in Indian tourists, Pival hires a young American woman to serve as a companion and a male Bangladeshi tour guide; the trio has little in common except that each faces an uncertain future. As the journey unfolds, Nankani’s delivery reflects the group's developing ease with each other as well as their inner growth and self-discovery. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2018-05-01
A Bengali widow embarks on a road trip of the U.S. with a Bangladeshi guide and a young American woman.When Pival Sengupta's husband dies, leaving her alone in their Kolkata house, what she mainly feels is relief. Ram had been a difficult, angry man who blamed his wife for all his woes. The most difficult of these had to do with their son, who moved to Los Angeles to study marine biology and, before long, called home to come out to his parents. He's then effectively cut out of their lives. When Ram dies, Pival, who has never left Kolkata, decides to invest in a two-week tour of the United States, ending in LA. She'll get to know the country her son loved before reconnecting with him—if he's still alive; he might not be. To help with her trip, Pival enlists the First Class India USA Destination Vacation Tour Company, which sets her up with Satya, a naïve young Bangladeshi guide who's always hungry, and, for modesty's sake, a female companion named Rebecca. The three then set out on a road trip, chock full of all the tacky tourist traps, cultural clashes, and sappy heart-to-hearts you can imagine. This is Franqui's first novel, and it's tolerable, if not utterly original. She engages in quite a few road trip-novel clichés as well as greenhorn-in-America stereotypes. Worse, she has a habit of overexplaining her characters' inner lives. She writes, for example, that "Ram's authority destroyed Pival's own sense of herself and replaced it with a version that Ram created." This had already been clear; it doesn't need to be spelled out. Still, the book is occasionally charming and occasionally engaging; despite everything, you'll want to find out what happens in the end.Clichés and overexplaining get in the way of the humor and genuine sentiment that this novel strains toward.
