Books and Bagels Discussion on The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Rating: The Golden Son received ratings between 3.5 and 5.0 with an average rating of 4.02. This is a very high average for this club.
Review: Members thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it was very favorably received. They loved Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s extensive research about the education of medical doctors in the United States and the challenges presented. Members enjoyed the author’s exploration of the panchayat system, an Indian tradition of settling disputes within a community. Members are life-long learners and view discovery into novels with historical and cultural perspectives from other countries as an exciting quest. They found the panchayat system intriguing and they appreciated Gowda’s coverage.
Discussion Highlights:
- Members appreciated the exploration of internships and residency in the medical profession. It was interesting to see the evolution of a trained physician.
- Members were interested in arranged marriages, dowry, and bride burning discussed within the novel.
- Members liked Gowda’s use of metaphors such as; the dispute of the mango tree and the clay as a metaphor for life.
- Members really liked the vignettes presented throughout the novel showing the panchayat system and the arbitration process.
- Many members’ only negative comments were about the ending.
- Several members found the ending to be contrived, but not completely like a Hollywood ending. It was more realistic that one of the main characters, Anil, did not end up with the other main character, Leena.
- A few members thought the ending needed to be tighter.
- Members found this to be an easy, enjoyable read without many literary devices and sometimes this is a nice break. They enjoyed the dialogue between characters and found it to be realistic.
- Three members had read Gowda’s first novel, Secret Daughter, and they commented that her second novel The Golden Son contained an improved writing style.
Resources:
Read Gowda’s inspiration for The Golden Son:
http://www.shilpigowda.com/tgs-behind-the-book/
Gowda is interviewed by Liza Fromer about The Golden Son:
Read-a-Likes:
