Purple Lotus

August 28, 2020

DEBUT The dramatic ups and downs of a young Indian woman's relationships are the focus of Rao's first novel, which centers on Tara, whose arranged marriage to an Indian immigrant living in Atlanta isn't what she expected. Tara was raised in a traditional Indian family in Mangalore, and expects to be a proper wife to Sanjay, even if it took three years after their marriage for him to bring Tara to the States. But Sanjay is distant and wants little to do with his new wife, leaving Tara feeling isolated. She befriends a Russian immigrant named Alyona, who helps her settle into her new American life, but Sanjay disapproves. His controlling behavior shifts to physical and emotional abuse, and Tara makes the difficult choice to leave her marriage, an act of independence that is shameful to her family. Although Tara finds a second chance at love with a man she knew as a teenager, the severed connection with her parents continues to haunt her. Flashbacks to Tara's youth, where she lived with her grandparents and a schizophrenic uncle while her parents and younger brother lived in Dubai, are interspersed throughout the book, revealing deep truths about Tara's hopes and fears. VERDICT This thoughtful, moving novel will appeal to readers who enjoy stories that explore the inner lives of women who are pushing against societal expectations.--Nanette Donohue, Champaign P.L., IL

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October 1, 2020
An Indian immigrant moves to Atlanta for an arranged marriage and undertakes a quest for identity in this debut novel. When 8-year-old Tara's father and pregnant mother immigrate to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates from Mangalore, India, to build a better life, she's left behind with members of her extended family. Feeling abandoned, she takes refuge in reading, and her bookish nature leads her to obtain a master's degree in English literature and employment as a journalist at the Morning Herald. Although she harbors dreams of becoming a fiction writer, her family is more interested in seeing her married off to a proper Hindu groom. As a result, Sanjay enters Tara's life as an arranged husband. At 31, she uproots her life in India to join him in the American South. Rao's prose brims with authentic scenes of Atlanta, set at the Decatur Farmers Market, Lindbergh, and cafes in Buckhead, navigating the Perimeter; autumn trees in the South are engagingly described as "eerie contortions of bare arms that stretched out toward a bitter sky." Eventually, Tara learns that Sanjay passionately loves another woman, making her irrelevant. She and her husband continue to cohabitate until her independence threatens the insecure, jealous Sanjay. Rao unflinchingly and realistically portrays a cycle of domestic abuse that ends with Tara fighting for--and gaining--her freedom. Throughout the novel, childhood flashbacks introduce Tara's past, including memories of an adolescent crush, Cyrus; they later rekindle their dormant romance. Empowered by her newfound sense of belonging, she effectively asserts her voice by writing an op-ed published for the Morning Herald. When controversy ensues, she stands tall, buoyed by her hard-won sense of self. A moving and polished novel that highlights Rao's literary promise.

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