Book Review: Family tensions and cultural identity in the life of Malti Patel

A book review explores the complex life of Malti Patel, a woman in her seventies who raised her daughter, Kavya, alone in the USA following a contentious divorce. Malti’s past experiences with her ex-husband, who relocated to Gujarat, India, have shaped her negative perceptions of Indian men.

The narrative follows the strained relationship between Malti and her daughter’s American ex-husband, Nathan. Tensions escalate when Kavya moves to India to pursue graduate studies and stays with her father, an act Malti perceives as a betrayal. After Malti suffers an accident, Nathan is required to act as her caregiver for a week, leading to forced proximity and dialogue that reveals Malti’s history of struggle and her fractured family connections.