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The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

by Kiran Desai

A chance encounter, family histories, and life across borders

Regular price $25.15 USD
Regular price $41.92 USD Sale price $25.15 USD
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Hardcover New English

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A chance encounter, family histories, and life across borders

An overnight train brings Sonia and Sunny face to face, reviving an awkward connection: their grandparents once tried to arrange a match, a decision that instead pushed them apart. Sonia returns to her family in India after studying in Vermont, carrying fears linked to an artist she once sought out for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist in New York, is trying to get away from his mother and a clan divided by violence. Their uncertain search for happiness unfolds amid questions of belonging, family obligation, and the forces of country, class, race, and history. The novel brings a relationship story together with a multigenerational family saga spanning India and America.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in love stories shaped by family history and intergenerational ties.
  • Readers drawn to fiction moving between India and the United States.
  • Readers interested in characters navigating class, race, migration, and belonging.

Themes

Love and familyIntergenerational bondsMigration and belongingClass, race, and history

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
ONE OF PEOPLE'S TOP 5 BOOKS OF THE YEAR

BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLIST
KIRKUS PRIZE FINALIST

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR, Time, Oprah Daily, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Economist, Harper's Bazaar, The Globe and Mail, BBC, New York Post, Kirkus Reviews, Elle, Library Journal, Libby, Chicago Public Library, Lit Hub

LONGLISTED FOR THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD - A LIBBY BOOK AWARD NOMINEE - ONE OF BOOKPAGE'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years--an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize-winning author of
The Inheritance of Loss

"A transcendent triumph . . . not so much a novel as a marvel."--The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

"A magnificent saga."--Washington Post

"Lavish, funny, smart, and wise, this is a novel that will last."--The Boston Globe

"A spectacular literary achievement. I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever."--Ann Patchett

"A novel so wonderful, when I got to the last page, I turned to the first and began again."--Sandra Cisneros

"Devastating, lyrical, and deeply romantic . . . an unmitigated joy to read."--Khaled Hosseini

"A masterpiece."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"A sweeping page-turner, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is a kind of Romeo and Juliet story for a modern, globalized age."--Publishers Weekly (Top 10 New Fall Books)


When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once tried to matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that served only to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.

Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India. She fears that she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence of his warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.
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