The Windfall
A Novel
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3.7 • 13 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Charming . . . What Kevin Kwan did for rich-people problems, Diksha Basu does for trying-to-be-rich-people problems.”—People
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE • A PEOPLE PICK • A TIME PICK
The Jhas are moving up. For the past thirty years, their lives have been defined by cramped spaces and gossipy neighbors. But when Mr. Jha comes into an enormous sum of money—the result of an unexpectedly successful internet venture—he moves his reluctant wife from their housing complex in East Delhi to the super-rich side of town, ultimately forcing them, and their son, to reckon with who they are and what really matters to them. Hilarious and wise, The Windfall illuminates with warmth and heart the precariousness of social status, the fragility of pride, and, above all, the human drive to build and share a home. Even the rich, it turns out, need to belong somewhere.
Praise for The Windfall
“A delightful comedy of errors.”—NPR, Weekend Edition
“Ultra-charming.”—Vogue
“I almost fell out of bed laughing.”—Kevin Kwan, author of Crazy Rich Asians
“A fun and heartfelt comedy of manners.”—Rolling Stone
“Though money doesn’t necessarily buy the Jhas happiness, it delivers readers plenty of laughs and more.”—Esquire
“Endearing, astute.”—Christian Science Monitor
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Culture and capital clash in Basu's charming, funny debut, which finds middle-aged Anil and Bindu Jha flush with new money after Anil sells his phone directory website for a small fortune. The couple moves from their modest, cramped, noisy home in an East Delhi apartment complex to the gated community of Gurgaon, where keeping up appearances means hiring security guards and making extravagant purchases. As they try to adjust to their new lifestyle, their son, Rupak, struggles with his M.B.A. program and his own needs from halfway around the world in upstate New York, oscillating between white Florida native Elizabeth and Serena, also from Delhi, with whom he feels pressured by tradition to pursue companionship. Add to the mix Reema, Mrs. Jha's old friend from East Delhi who finds herself wooed by the brother of the Jhas' new neighbor, and Basu sets the table for a modern and heartfelt comedy of haves and have-nots. Shuttling between characters, the novel addresses a rapidly changing India from a plethora of perspectives, and the result leaves readers laughing and engrossed.
Customer Reviews
Loved this book
I am an immigrant but not from India.
I felt the author knew what my family went through trying to be accepted in our chosen country. There was so much empathy in her words made more kind with humour.