Chandra is a professor of Economics at Cambridge University. He is a very driven man, focused tightly on his job and his research. His wife divorced him a few years ago and remarried an American psychologist and lives in Boulder, Colorado. His son Sunny has succeeded in business in his own way, but not to Chandra's expectations. Sunny lives in Hong Kong. His daughter Radha has been estranged from Chandra for years, and he doesn't know what she's doing or where she is. He's put some pressure on his ex-wife and son to divulge information about her, which they haven't given in to. His youngest daughter Jasmine is a senior in high school and lives with her mother.
As the book opens, Chandra is up for a Nobel Prize, and is considered a favourite. But he doesn't get it. Shortly after, he is hit by a bicyclist in an accident and suffers a minor heart attack. His doctor advises him to take some time off, something Chandra gives into reluctantly, and he finds himself in California.
Through the book we gradually see how Chandra got to where he is now, and how his relationships with these people have developed. He is put into a situation where he admits some of these truths to those around him, and to himself.
My book club read this, and related to some of the family dynamics and ambitions shown here. We generally agreed that Chandra has a long ways to go in terms of mending relationships with his family, and with recognizing his own role in these relationships.
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