Looking for a good read? We have just the thing. Find out what page-turner you should pick up with our Must-Reads of The Week!
Acclaimed author Thrity Umrigar tells the story of an unlikely friendship in her latest novel, The Story Hour. When Lakshmi, an Indian immigrant in a loveless marriage, tries to kill herself, she is required to go see a psychologist as a condition of her release from the hospital. Maggie, an African American psychologist married to an Indian American man, at first tries to help Lakshmi, who is constantly berated by her Indian husband and treated more like an employee than a wife. We, too, as readers suffer from the “poor Lakshmi” syndrome, shaking our heads at the stereotypical arranged marriage of the helpless wife from the countryside, demonizing the cold brute of a husband.
That is, until stories begin to unfold in these unconventional therapy sessions – stories where secrets are revealed. Before we know it, it is Maggie who is in need of saving and the cold brute of a husband for whom we feel sympathy. And ultimately, it is Lakshmi who holds the fate of those she loves in her hands.
Details Hardcover, $25.99, umrigar.com.
