âThe saga of an Indian family steeped in tradition trying to find its niche in the suburbs of Chicago . . . Engrossingâ (Booklist).
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âFunny and romantic and heartbreakingâ (St. Petersburg Times), this novel is narrated by Francisco DâSai, a firstborn son of a firstborn sonâall the way back to the beginning of a long line of proud Konkans, the so-called âJews of India,â who abandoned their Hindu traditions, knelt before Vasco da Gamaâs sword and Saint Francis Xavierâs cross, and became Catholics.
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In Chicago in the early 1970s, Franciscoâs Konkan father, Lawrence, wants desperately to assimilate into American cultureâpursuing a corporate job and launching an uphill battle to join the local country club. But Franciscoâs American mother, Denise, a Peace Corps veteran who finds the suburbs utterly boring, wants to preserve the familyâs heritage, feeding Franciscoâs imagination with proud visions of India and Konkan historyâwith enthusiastic help from her recently arrived brother-in-law. Sometimes it seems like sheâs more excited about her husbandâs background and culture than about her marriage.
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From the author of Whiteman, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and winner of the Sue Kaufman Prize, this is a witty, wrenching portrait of generational, cultural, marital, and historical conflict, seen through one familyâs experience.
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â[A] savvy storyteller with a clear, soulful voice.â âEntertainment Weekly
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âDâSouzaâs compelling tale of one extended familyâs trials and triumphs in a foreign land is an astute glimpse of the challenges, dangers, and rewards of assimilation.â âThe Boston Globe