A lawyer-turned-painter with 3 potential love interests. Now that is NOT a plot you come across very often. I found this book at a sale in my library, and of course I caved in. So much for planning to stay away from new books, until I finish my “to-read list”. Still, no regrets as the book was worth the guilt trip! Yes, my library has an amazing set of books! ?
- Title – Beyond Indigo
- Author – Preethi Nair
Review Score – 4.5* out of 5*
In a way the book reminded me of the movie “The Associate” starring Whoopi Goldberg. Add the high-brow society and million-dollar world of arts and paintings, stir in some demanding Asian parents and set the story in suburban London. Voila! A fascinating story that you will want to read from cover to cover.
Even if you don’t like art or paintings, most readers will relate to the heroine’s struggles to follow her dreams, even when it doesn’t seem promising at all. Most of us either don’t know how to go about it or repress it to the RIGHT thing and pursue a stable (aka boring) career that pays the bills, and occasionally some leftover change to dabble in our “hobby”. So any “rags-to-riches” story is always gripping where a protagonist follows their dreams and emerges triumphant against all obstacles.
As an Indian immigrant, I absolutely relate to the quirky behavior of the heroine’s parents and the pressure felt by her to “conform” to her family’s idea of acceptable jobs, life partner and other societal standards. I think all immigrant kids grow up with this duality and the author portrays it beautifully without making disparaging or overdoing the inevitable generational/cultural clashes. I love that she shows respect to the heroine’s dad, a public transport bus-driver. Most immigrants (or even refugees) take menial jobs to provide for their families, irrespective of their status back home. Is it any wonder that such folks pin their lost dreams and aspirations on to the next generation, and become almost obsessed with the kids enjoying a RICH and successful (aka materialistic) life?
Philosophy aside, the story is quite creative – the lengths the heroine goes to hide her painter identity is ridiculously funny. Of course, such deceit would not be possible in today’s world of social media (this book was published in 2004), but despite that minor flaw the book is a captivating read. Still some mysteries like “Marhmellow” do exist, so perhaps the flaw is not such a flaw, after all.
Similar Works:
- Books – Crazy Rich Asians, Stylist Takes Manhattan.
- Movies – The Associate (1996), Golmaal (1979), Bareilly ki Barfi (2017)
- Genres – Drama, urban fiction, women’s fiction, contemporary fiction