This novel opens in a small Indian village with Kavita giving birth to a baby girl. The father intends to kill the baby (the fate of her sister born before her) but Kavita has her spirited away to a Mumbai orphanage. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, Somer, a doctor who can't bear children, is persuaded by her Indian husband, Krishnan, to adopt a child from India. Somer reluctantly agrees and they go to India where they adopt Kavita's daughter, Asha. Somer is overwhelmed by the unfamiliar country and concerned that the child will only bond with her husband because Asha and Krishnan will look alike, they will have their ancestry in common. Kavita, still mourning her baby girl, gives birth to a son. Asha grows up in California, feeling isolated from her heritage until at college she finds a way to visit her birth country. Despite giving me a deeper appreciation for what women feel when they give up a child or can't have their own child, this novel still felt light and fluffy and lacking in the quality of the story telling.
Rating: 3 Just OK
