This is a story about stark contrasts. We meet two families whose every day lives could not be more different. One family is struggling to escape the overwhelming poverty in India, and the other is a married couple in America-- both doctors, one Caucasian, one Indian -- who are unable to conceive a child.
Gowda gives us a window into India -- a country and culture practically defined by contrasts. The fabulous luxury of the rich versus the crushing and endless poverty of the poor. The murder of female babies versus the three-day celebration of the birth of a baby boy. Add to this the contrast between the life of a woman in India who gave birth to an unwanted baby girl and the Stanford-educated couple who are unable to conceive and you may wonder how these families are at all similar.
Their life experiences intersect through the power of maternal love and the inevitable heartache and joy that comes with it. Add the pretty significant wrinkle of adoption and you get the stories of Kavita and Jasu in India and Somer and Krishnan in California.
I appreciated the insight into the Indian culture -- seeing American culture from the Indian perspective was eye-opening in itself -- but I also gained insight into the emotional toll of adoption and (surprising to me, anyway) the aftermath of adoption.
Given the above, I might have given it 4 stars except that the writing was just average.
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