Shiromi Arserio and Vikas Adam deliver this story of the heartache and recovery of a multicultural California family reeling from tragedy. Karina is only 13 when her beloved brother drowns in their family pool. Arserio’s restrained portrayal of Karina’s anguish reveals the suppressed guilt that will afflict her for years. Mom Jaya retreats into a cocoon of spirituality, and Arserio’s softly lilting voice depicts her increasing retreat to her Indian roots. Narrating the chapters from the point of view of Karina’s brother Prem as he views the shattering fragments of his family after his death, Vikas Adam takes on a youthful unworried tone suitable for Prem’s easy acceptance of his fate. As each family member’s personal crisis deepens, they all find hope in their shared connections. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
The Shape of Family: A Novel
Narrated by Shiromi Arserio, Vikas Adam
Shilpi Somaya GowdaUnabridged — 10 hours, 39 minutes
The Shape of Family: A Novel
Narrated by Shiromi Arserio, Vikas Adam
Shilpi Somaya GowdaUnabridged — 10 hours, 39 minutes
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Overview
"Deeply involving....Rings so true." -- Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of*Room
From the international bestselling author of*Secret Daughter*and*The Golden Son*comes a poignant, unforgettable novel about a family's growing apart and coming back together in the wake of tragedy.
“The Shape of Family*is a novel about race and culture, parents and siblings, marriage and love, but most of all, it's about finding hope after darkness. Shilpi Somaya Gowda is a compassionate and wise storyteller who keeps us riveted from beginning to end.” -- Jean Kwok,*New York Times*bestselling author of*Girl in Translation
The Olander family embodies the modern American Dream in a globalized world. Jaya, the cultured daughter of an Indian diplomat and Keith, an ambitious banker from middle-class Philadelphia, meet in a London pub in 1988 and make a life together in suburban California. Their strong marriage is built on shared beliefs and love for their two children: headstrong teenager Karina and young son Prem, the light of their home.
But love and prosperity cannot protect them from sudden, unspeakable tragedy, and the family's foundation cracks as each member struggles to seek a way forward. Jaya finds solace in spirituality. Keith wagers on his high-powered career. Karina focuses relentlessly on her future and independence. And Prem watches helplessly as his once close-knit family drifts apart.
When Karina heads off to college for a fresh start, her search for identity and belonging leads her down a dark path, forcing her and her family to reckon with the past, the secrets they've held and the weight of their choices.
The Shape of Family*is an intimate portrayal of four individuals as they grapple with what it means to be a family and how to move from a painful past into a hopeful future. It is a profoundly moving exploration of the ways we all seek belonging-in our families, our communities and ultimately, within ourselves.
Editorial Reviews
01/27/2020
Gowda’s evocative if predictable follow-up to The Golden Sun examines how a family deals with the loss of a child. In a California suburb, Karina spends her high school years blaming herself for the drowning death of her eight-year-old brother, Prem, when she was a preteen looking after him. Jaya, her mother, born in India but raised internationally as her diplomat father traveled the world, finds solace by returning to her Hindu religious roots. Karina’s father, Keith, a Lutheran-raised Philadelphian, buries himself in high-pressured financial work. Karina turns her misery inward, finding release in cutting herself and obsessing over school. While Gowda’s handling of teen self-esteem issues tracks a well-trodden path, a parallel between Jaya’s sudden dedication to an Indian guru and Karina’s involvement with a utopian commune after she goes off to college adds texture. Descriptions of the adversity faced by the children at school for being “mixed” are also done well. In chapters alternating among Karin, Jaya, and Keith, Gowda skillfully unpacks the family’s tension and trauma, though the conclusion comes too quickly, and mawkish entries narrated by Prem are a major drawback. No one but the reader hears the dead brother’s superfluous assurances that Karina wasn’t at fault for his death. There’s a lot of potential here, but too much of it is unmet. (Mar.)
"Gowda renders even the worst decisions made by the Olanders with compassion and insight, so much so that rooting for them — despite and because of their fragility — becomes a pleasure. I know these characters, and I love them, and for some unnameable hours in this uneasy spring, their journey from life, to death, to life was also mine. What a gift, to be that transported, and, eventually — blessedly — transformed." — San Francisco Chronicle
“This beautifully written, poignant novel explores how one loving family deals with an unspeakable tragedy. It's a novel about race and culture, parents and siblings, marriage and love, but most of all, it's about finding hope after darkness. Shilpi Somaya Gowda is a compassionate and wise storyteller who keeps us riveted from beginning to end.” — Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation
“A moving exploration of how loss can change the contours of a life. Gowda deftly examines the forces that can make and remake a family in this engrossing page turner of a novel.” — Thrity Umrigar, author of The Secrets Between Us
"Not simply a story about tragedy or even the dangers of fervent devotion, but a story about mourning in all its myriad forms." — San Diego Union-Tribune
"In prose of quiet beauty, Shilpi Somaya Gowda drills down into the American Dream and comes up with pure gold. You will cry, rage, worry, and come to love the members of the Olander family." — Tatjana Soli, author of The Lotus Eaters
"A deeply involving story of a family falling apart, THE SHAPE OF FAMILY rings so true." — Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room
“An unforgettable portrait of a family’s loss, longing, and reconstruction. Haunting and beautiful, THE SHAPE OF FAMILY takes hold of you from the first page and does not let go.” — Lawrence Hill, author of Someone Knows My Name
“Thought-provoking to the core, The Shape of Family is both a warning about how our lives can change in an instant and a testament to the strength we must summon to keep a family whole.” — Washington Independent Review of Books
"Gowda traces the fallout lines with compassion and a keen eye for the lies we tell ourselves to avoid facing our own demons...A deft, patient portrait of grief." — Kirkus Reviews
“Rendered with compassion, this is a compelling testament to a family’s struggle to find solace.” — Booklist
“Gowda’s descriptions of their grief, coping mechanisms and bad decisions are as compassionate as they are profound. This is clearly a writer who has studied the full spectrum of human emotion, but even more impressive is her ability to render it so beautifully on the page.” — Book Reporter
“Sympathetic and inspiring, this intimate story is bound to stick with you.” — Ms. Magazine
“A moving story that reflects the trials of families everywhere … The result is a rich and engrossing novel about normal people trying to live their lives.” — BookTrib
"Not simply a story about tragedy or even the dangers of fervent devotion, but a story about mourning in all its myriad forms."
Thought-provoking to the core, The Shape of Family is both a warning about how our lives can change in an instant and a testament to the strength we must summon to keep a family whole.
Rendered with compassion, this is a compelling testament to a family’s struggle to find solace.
"In prose of quiet beauty, Shilpi Somaya Gowda drills down into the American Dream and comes up with pure gold. You will cry, rage, worry, and come to love the members of the Olander family."
"Gowda renders even the worst decisions made by the Olanders with compassion and insight, so much so that rooting for them — despite and because of their fragility — becomes a pleasure. I know these characters, and I love them, and for some unnameable hours in this uneasy spring, their journey from life, to death, to life was also mine. What a gift, to be that transported, and, eventually — blessedly — transformed."
A moving exploration of how loss can change the contours of a life. Gowda deftly examines the forces that can make and remake a family in this engrossing page turner of a novel.
This beautifully written, poignant novel explores how one loving family deals with an unspeakable tragedy. It's a novel about race and culture, parents and siblings, marriage and love, but most of all, it's about finding hope after darkness. Shilpi Somaya Gowda is a compassionate and wise storyteller who keeps us riveted from beginning to end.
An unforgettable portrait of a family’s loss, longing, and reconstruction. Haunting and beautiful, THE SHAPE OF FAMILY takes hold of you from the first page and does not let go.
"A deeply involving story of a family falling apart, THE SHAPE OF FAMILY rings so true."
Gowda’s descriptions of their grief, coping mechanisms and bad decisions are as compassionate as they are profound. This is clearly a writer who has studied the full spectrum of human emotion, but even more impressive is her ability to render it so beautifully on the page.
Sympathetic and inspiring, this intimate story is bound to stick with you.
A moving story that reflects the trials of families everywhere … The result is a rich and engrossing novel about normal people trying to live their lives.
Rendered with compassion, this is a compelling testament to a family’s struggle to find solace.
"Gowda renders even the worst decisions made by the Olanders with compassion and insight, so much so that rooting for them — despite and because of their fragility — becomes a pleasure. I know these characters, and I love them, and for some unnameable hours in this uneasy spring, their journey from life, to death, to life was also mine. What a gift, to be that transported, and, eventually — blessedly — transformed."
"A tense and moving story of tragedy, grief, and resilience, of a family confronting its darkest moments while searching for the light within. Gowda's vivid characters and glimmering prose make for an engrossing and unforgettable read."
Vivid, heart-warming, and absorbing.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s flair for detail is evident. . . . The prose is so achingly touching, it draws the reader in with every description and emotion of the characters.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda is as adept at crafting disparate, fully realized worlds…as she is at creating compelling characters.
A beautifully composed compelling story of love, loss, discovery and the true meaning of family.
At turns harrowing and uplifting. . . . Compulsively readable and inspiring.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s great achievement is this: she makes each locale she depicts fascinating and true and original; she makes each character she draws so heartbreakingly vibrant that even after we finish reading we can’t forget them.”
A nuanced coming-of-age story that is faithful to the economic and emotional realities of two very different cultures.
Gowda can write up moments that break your heart.
A sensitive and intelligent work . . . [with a] finely drawn protagonist. . . . Demonstrates Gowda’s abilities as a sympathetic observer of heart and mind.
A nuanced coming-of-age story that is faithful to the economic and emotional realities of two very different cultures.
Shiromi Arserio and Vikas Adam deliver this story of the heartache and recovery of a multicultural California family reeling from tragedy. Karina is only 13 when her beloved brother drowns in their family pool. Arserio’s restrained portrayal of Karina’s anguish reveals the suppressed guilt that will afflict her for years. Mom Jaya retreats into a cocoon of spirituality, and Arserio’s softly lilting voice depicts her increasing retreat to her Indian roots. Narrating the chapters from the point of view of Karina’s brother Prem as he views the shattering fragments of his family after his death, Vikas Adam takes on a youthful unworried tone suitable for Prem’s easy acceptance of his fate. As each family member’s personal crisis deepens, they all find hope in their shared connections. N.M.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
2019-12-23
After calamity strikes, the members of the Olander family struggle to find their paths back to each other.
The children of an American father and an Indian mother, Karina and Prem Olander have learned to stick together. Thirteen-year-old Karina defends Prem, 8, from school bullies and even walks hand in hand with him on the way home, but she wants her time alone, too. Pushing Prem away one afternoon so that she can spend time trying on makeup and talking to her best friend, however, leads to a deadly accident. With each chapter telling the story from a different family member's perspective, Gowda (The Golden Son, 2016, etc.) traces the fallout lines with compassion and a keen eye for the lies we tell ourselves to avoid facing our own demons. While Prem watches from someplace after death, his and Karina's parents split up, with their father, Keith, submerging himself in his work in the financial industry and making some ethically questionable decisions. Their mother, Jaya, drifts away from everyone, rediscovering her spirituality, spending hours in ritualized prayer, building a temple in the family's home, and following the teachings of a prominent Hindu guru. With Prem's chapters underdeveloped, Gowda focuses primarily on Karina, tracing her spiral first into depression and then into self-destructive behavior. Once she leaves for college, Karina is primed to fall in love, to be betrayed, and to find solace at the Sanctuary. A communal farm headed by the charismatic Micah, the Sanctuary offers Karina meaningful work surrounded by people who embrace her, bearing witness to her sense of guilt. But as Karina begins to suspect that Micah may not be quite who he claims to be, Gowda ratchets up the tension, shifting gears into a thriller late in the game, setting in motion the family's reunion.
A deft, patient portrait of grief.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170096701 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 03/17/2020 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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