Gold diggers by Sanjena Sathian

"Gold diggers" by Sanjena Sathian - It's different!

This book was published by HarperCollins India in 2021 and has 352 pages. This is Sanjena's debut novel. 

Neil Narayan is friends with Anita Dayal and is close to her mother Anjali Dayal (Joshi), who runs a catering business for Indian community in America. One day Neil stumbles on a secret of Anita and Anjali and becomes a party to it.

What is the secret? Why does Neil become a party to it? What's in it for him? Who is the gold digger?

This is a novel of and about Indian Americans from the perspective of a second generation Indian American boy. On one hand Indian Americans try to retain their Indian identity and culture and on other hand they try to assimilate into American lifestyle. Point to be noted is that this is true even for second generation Americans. It's a constant comparison between what their parents strive and where they are. It's identity crisis. Are they Americans or are they Indians? Are they different? Are they always outsiders? What are they after?

Chemically, Gold is a noble metal. Financially, Gold is precious metal. Aesthetically, Gold is beautiful metal. However, in this book Gold signifies ambitions and aspirations of the owner and maker. When it is brewed, the ingestor inherits the ambitions of the owner & the maker. It's an interesting angle. With this concept, the story gains an altogether different perspective. Alchemy has enticed many for generations. This book is another foray into it.

Who is ambitious in America? Who is intelligent in America? Who works very hard to achieve their dreams? Who uses pure gold in America? Of course the Indian Americans. 

Then, there is a side story of a Hindu gold digger who came to America from Bombay and achieved some success. He was the only one of his kind, an aberration. He wanted to succeed but the whites castigated him as thief.

Neil, Anita and Anjali's story is a curious story. It keeps the reader interested. Then there is a time leap when Neel and Anita move away, until they meet again after 10 years. The story then takes absurd turn with weed, heist and what not. It appears as if the story is caught by an eddy and is carried to unintended destination. However author manages to pull it back to sense towards the end. 

Some aspects of this story are plain and simple, some aspects are mystic, some aspects are meta physical. So it's a mix of all with gold at the heart of it. 

Neil meets Ramesh Uncle, a retired professor from Calcutta. Ramesh uncle appears to be an important and mysterious character, but he suddenly disappears from the story to come back only at the end. 

It's a first person account of a male character written by a female author. The story is narrated by Neil Narayan.

This novel falls in the genre of 'Magical realism'. Its being adapted into a TV series by Kaling International. 

Why did I read this book? Interesting title. 

What did I like? The fresh take. 

What I didn't like? Dip after time leap. 

Read if you liked the review.