Late Bloomers

Suresh and Lata Raman, an Indian American couple, have just divorced after thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage. Now both are heading in new directions, and their grown children are caught up in the upheaval.

Suresh has joined an online dating site for Indians and is having no luck at all, until a mysterious, strikingly attractive younger woman seems to take an interest in him. Lata is enjoying her independence, but she is unprepared when a professor in his early sixties begins to flirt with her. Their daughter, Priya, finds her father's online pursuits distasteful, even as she begins a secret affair of her own. Their son, Nikesh, keeps up the appearance of a perfect marriage with a colleague from his law firm and their young son, while hiding what the relationship actually involves.

The story unfolds over three weeks in August, during which the family uncovers one another's secrets, tests the limits of love and loyalty, and considers what second chances might look like. It follows four people trying to work out how to be happy in their own lives and as a family. This is Deepa Varadarajan's debut novel.