Don't Let Him Know - Softcover

Roy, Sandip

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408856662 ISBN 13: 9781408856666

Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks, 2016

Synopsis

In a boxy apartment building in an Illinois college town, Romola Mitra, a newly arrived young bride, anxiously awaits her first letter from home in India. When she accidentally opens the wrong letter, it changes her life. Decades later, her son, Amit, back in the U.S., finds the same letter and thinks he has discovered his mother's secret. But secrets carry within them their own secrets sometimes.

Amit does not know that Avinash, his devoted father, lurked on gay chat rooms at times, unable to set aside his lifelong attraction to men. Avinash, for his part, had no idea about the memories of a starry romance his dutiful wife kept tucked away among her silk saris. As Amit settles down as a computer engineer in San Francisco, he too is torn between his new life here and his duties toward the one he has left behind in India.

Don't Let Him Know sweeps up multiple generations of a family, moving from an illicit encounter in a Calcutta park to an unlikely friendship forged at a Carbondale gay bar, from midnight snacks of a great-grandmother's mango chutney to wayward temptations at a McDonald's drive-thru. Tender, funny, and beautifully told, it is an unforgettable story about the sacrifices we make for those we love.

About this title

About the Author

Sandip Roy was born in India and spent many years in San Francisco. He is the senior editor at Firstpost.com, an editor at New America Media, a blogger for the Huffington Post, and a commentator for Morning Edition on NPR. He is also a radio host on KALW 91.7FM San Francisco. Roy currently lives in Calcutta. This is his first book.

Review

“At its best, Don't Let Him Know merges--or, more fundamentally, presents--this clash of sensibilities: Indian and American, traditional and tolerant.” ―Los Angeles Times

"Don't Let Him Know is a rich, evocative and brilliantly told tale . . . Sandip Roy has broken new ground in this tale of the modern Indian family. A lovely read." ―Abraham Verghese

"Sandip Roy’s compelling characters strive to negotiate the distances between continents, generations and sexualities; through a dazzling mosaic of narrative snapshots Roy captures the arcs of entire lifetimes." ―Manil Suri

"In Don't Let Him Know, Sandip Roy finds the hidden pockets within ordinary moments and deftly turns them out to reveal the secrets the Mitras have concealed for years. The result is a moving portrait of the loves and longings of a family split: between India and America, between past and present, and between duty and dreams." ―Celeste Ng, author of EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU

About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1408856662
• ISBN 13: 9781408856666
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256