MixedThe New York Times Book ReviewThis is not a tableau of exotic spices and brilliant saris, of flashbacks to fables told in a village back in the old country. This is a brave portrait that sheds light on the parts of Indian culture that are seldom seen by those outside it ... There’s so much to praise in Satyal’s honesty that it’s a shame Ranjana’s obsession for vampire fiction feels not organic but forced, as if the author racked his mind for the most unexpected hobby for her demographic ... The ending is also unsatisfying, and doesn’t do justice to what came before. In the last chapters, shame-filled Ranjana has become a best-selling author reading to a packed audience. Anxiety-ridden Harit is living contentedly as an openly gay man. Satyal started out this novel by giving us the world, but he destroys it with all the patness of a Hollywood ending.
