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The Outsiders
"An absorbing read, and an author to watch out for" - The Hindu
"The Outsiders’ poignantly addresses the feelings of loss and homesickness that can overwhelm immigrants" - The Tribune
"Peels off the many layers of the complicated journey of migration and spotlights the shifting roles of women" - The Indian Express
"An exquisite exploration of love, loneliness and the migrant experience, The Outsiders is at once a heart-wrenching and compelling read."-- Kiran Manral, bestselling author
Devi Yesodharan's The Outsiders expertly builds its two worlds--separated by almost two millennia and an ocean--to create a narrative braid that is as lashing as it is enthralling."-- Tanuj Solanki, author of Manjhi's Mayhem and The Machine Is Learning
A story that travels through ancient Kerala and 1990s Dubai.
For some people, home is nowhere. They feel out of place—they are adrift, the stranger in the crowd. It’s as if they are forever walking around in shoes that don’t fit.
Can they find a home, imperfect as it may be? Sometimes, all it takes is a place at the other end of the world—or a person.
Nita, a teacher in Kerala, is desperate for a better-paying job and accepts one in Dubai. It is the 1990s, and Dubai is just becoming a boom town. Everything is changing. But Nita struggles to adjust to the city as an immigrant. Her job as a live-in tutor for a young girl puts her in an unfamiliar, servile role with a wealthy family. Nita starts telling the child’s mother a story from ancient India, where Darius, a sailor, arrives at an Indian port seeking his fortune. As she tells this tale, making it up as she goes, she finds that she’s no longer alone.
This is a two-headed story—the narrators Nita and Darius are nested inside each other like Russian dolls. They are both outsiders in unfamiliar places. They make dangerous choices that take them to the breaking point. And as Nita feels her safety unravel, it does for Darius as well.
"The Outsiders’ poignantly addresses the feelings of loss and homesickness that can overwhelm immigrants" - The Tribune
"Peels off the many layers of the complicated journey of migration and spotlights the shifting roles of women" - The Indian Express
"An exquisite exploration of love, loneliness and the migrant experience, The Outsiders is at once a heart-wrenching and compelling read."-- Kiran Manral, bestselling author
Devi Yesodharan's The Outsiders expertly builds its two worlds--separated by almost two millennia and an ocean--to create a narrative braid that is as lashing as it is enthralling."-- Tanuj Solanki, author of Manjhi's Mayhem and The Machine Is Learning
A story that travels through ancient Kerala and 1990s Dubai.
For some people, home is nowhere. They feel out of place—they are adrift, the stranger in the crowd. It’s as if they are forever walking around in shoes that don’t fit.
Can they find a home, imperfect as it may be? Sometimes, all it takes is a place at the other end of the world—or a person.
Nita, a teacher in Kerala, is desperate for a better-paying job and accepts one in Dubai. It is the 1990s, and Dubai is just becoming a boom town. Everything is changing. But Nita struggles to adjust to the city as an immigrant. Her job as a live-in tutor for a young girl puts her in an unfamiliar, servile role with a wealthy family. Nita starts telling the child’s mother a story from ancient India, where Darius, a sailor, arrives at an Indian port seeking his fortune. As she tells this tale, making it up as she goes, she finds that she’s no longer alone.
This is a two-headed story—the narrators Nita and Darius are nested inside each other like Russian dolls. They are both outsiders in unfamiliar places. They make dangerous choices that take them to the breaking point. And as Nita feels her safety unravel, it does for Darius as well.
- GenresFiction
208 pages, Paperback
Published October 28, 2024
1 person is currently reading
2933 people want to read
About the author
Devi Yesodharan
2 books50 followersDevi Yesodharan was a speechwriter for Narayana Murthy, and also worked on Nandan Nilekani's book Imagining India. She is the author of Empire, which was nominated for the JCB Prize and the Tata Lit Live First Book Prize. The Outsiders is her second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 5, 2025
A poignant, moving meditation on isolation, abuse, wanting to belong and the erotics of storytelling. Quietly devastating and deeply tender. Please read this.
November 15, 2024
This is a book that grabbed my attention immediately with its title and the intriguing cover. I generally love stories within stories, and it was one aspect of this book that I loved so much, too.
This is the story of two people: Nita, who immigrates to Dubai after leaving her son behind for a better life, and Darius, whose story Nita narrates to her employer, Rouhi. Nita, as a single mother, was constantly tormented and haggled, which made her leave her hometown for the job. But in Dubai, she can see how she is an outsider and how her world is different from that of others who are native to the country.
In Dubai, she finds a family in Rouhi and her daughter Saba. Only Nita seems to have forgotten that Haroun, Rouhi’s abusive husband, will be back very soon, and her son is awaiting her return home while she is dreaming of a happily ever after with her newfound family.
And coming to Darius' story, which is similar to Nita’s own, he is an outsider in Muziris and has fallen for Maderi. And nothing seems to go as per his plan, and his future is waiting to be distorted by random gameplay.
Now, this book is more complex than what it appears to be. All throughout, I was more invested in Darius and Maderi than Nita and Rouhi because the relationship between the latter felt very forced and was not convincing enough. However, I liked the exploration of class differences at work and the insight into the elite lives in Dubai.
Maderi, as a character, was more fierce and strong, but Nita and Rouhi failed to impress at that. Their characters lacked depth, and the ending for both stories felt a bit weak and abrupt, which diluted the entire purpose. The storytelling was good, but it could have been better if the characters hadn’t been superficial and artificial.
This is the story of two people: Nita, who immigrates to Dubai after leaving her son behind for a better life, and Darius, whose story Nita narrates to her employer, Rouhi. Nita, as a single mother, was constantly tormented and haggled, which made her leave her hometown for the job. But in Dubai, she can see how she is an outsider and how her world is different from that of others who are native to the country.
In Dubai, she finds a family in Rouhi and her daughter Saba. Only Nita seems to have forgotten that Haroun, Rouhi’s abusive husband, will be back very soon, and her son is awaiting her return home while she is dreaming of a happily ever after with her newfound family.
And coming to Darius' story, which is similar to Nita’s own, he is an outsider in Muziris and has fallen for Maderi. And nothing seems to go as per his plan, and his future is waiting to be distorted by random gameplay.
Now, this book is more complex than what it appears to be. All throughout, I was more invested in Darius and Maderi than Nita and Rouhi because the relationship between the latter felt very forced and was not convincing enough. However, I liked the exploration of class differences at work and the insight into the elite lives in Dubai.
Maderi, as a character, was more fierce and strong, but Nita and Rouhi failed to impress at that. Their characters lacked depth, and the ending for both stories felt a bit weak and abrupt, which diluted the entire purpose. The storytelling was good, but it could have been better if the characters hadn’t been superficial and artificial.
December 10, 2024
The Outsiders by Devi Yesodharan is an exquisite novel with an ability to teleport the reader to a foreign land with its vivid and convincing descriptions. This is the story of a single mother who is underpaid and overqualified for a teacher’s job in Kerala. She wants her son to grow up comfortably, to have access to things she never had and so she accepts a tutor’s job in Dubai. Leaving behind her son with her sister, our protagonist moves across oceans, flustered and nervous about how her new employers will treat her. It is in this foreign land that Nita discovers friendship and love in Rouhi. A love that’s forbidden yet sweet, the kind that makes one ill with longing.
There’s a story within the story, an interesting aspect that I really enjoyed reading. While Nita falls in love that’s both reckless and sweet, we watch Darius fall in love that’s young and new. It is through the characters that Yesodharan holds your attention. She writes what it feels like to be a middle class immigrant while surrounded by wealth. She writes about patriarchy, misogyny and domestic abuse.
The Outsiders was a fantastic book that took me by surprise. Yesodharan’s storytelling is a class apart and I cannot wait to read more by her.
There’s a story within the story, an interesting aspect that I really enjoyed reading. While Nita falls in love that’s both reckless and sweet, we watch Darius fall in love that’s young and new. It is through the characters that Yesodharan holds your attention. She writes what it feels like to be a middle class immigrant while surrounded by wealth. She writes about patriarchy, misogyny and domestic abuse.
The Outsiders was a fantastic book that took me by surprise. Yesodharan’s storytelling is a class apart and I cannot wait to read more by her.
March 21, 2025
Picked up this book whilst travelling as the title appealed to me, it's also one of the few books that I have come across that is about the immigrant experience in Dubai.
As a widow and mother Nita decides to leave her home in Kerala to become a live-in tutor for a family in Dubai in the 90's, leaving her son behind. We follow her as she struggles with the (physical) distance between her and her own family but also being the outsider, both in the house she's living in but also outside the house. The book highlights the different ways in how someone can be an outsider and the struggle of what not belonging means. But what happens when you find someone that makes you feel like you should belong with them.
Nita shares part of her journey and her experiences in the story she tells about Darius, a sailor who leaves Egypt and ends up in an ancient port in India. Although seemingly a separate story, their experiences are intertwined. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the ancient port city and the lives of its people.
Trigger warning: domestic abuse.
As a widow and mother Nita decides to leave her home in Kerala to become a live-in tutor for a family in Dubai in the 90's, leaving her son behind. We follow her as she struggles with the (physical) distance between her and her own family but also being the outsider, both in the house she's living in but also outside the house. The book highlights the different ways in how someone can be an outsider and the struggle of what not belonging means. But what happens when you find someone that makes you feel like you should belong with them.
Nita shares part of her journey and her experiences in the story she tells about Darius, a sailor who leaves Egypt and ends up in an ancient port in India. Although seemingly a separate story, their experiences are intertwined. I really enjoyed the portrayal of the ancient port city and the lives of its people.
Trigger warning: domestic abuse.
December 1, 2024
A couple of famished souls, friends and lovers lost in a stranger country find something beyond the societal norms in this fantastic novel by Devi Yesodharan. The Outsiders is about identity, longing and ultimately a bond so deep that it can't be fathomed immediately.
Nita is a widow from India with a son and her eminent trouble is money, so when she gets a chance to work as a private tutor of a kid in Dubai, she embraces it. Rouhi, her student's mother in Dubai has a similar situation of being stuck in a lovelorn marriage. The extreme lack of human touch in their lives let them discover the story of an ancient time, where Nita is the storyteller and Rouhi is the ardent listener. There is a story inside the story and both the stories run a parallel course smoothly.
The harsh weather which mirrors the citizens of Dubai only leaves Nita and Rouhi (who is from Egypt) , craving more for a meaningful relationship. They develop a friendship and love blossoms between them despite their class difference.
There is domestic abuse and mean relatives to make Rouhi's life miserable enough, but her ultimate courage makes me believe in the magic of love once more. The ending is unforgettable.
The friendship between Nita and Rouhi seems as if it has been blossomed under the shadow of Mariam and Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I loved the engaging storytelling and recommend this wholeheartedly. I had to take this book everywhere I went because of the hypnotic story.
TW: domestic abuse
Thank you @penguinindia and @rinjinimitra for this book.
Nita is a widow from India with a son and her eminent trouble is money, so when she gets a chance to work as a private tutor of a kid in Dubai, she embraces it. Rouhi, her student's mother in Dubai has a similar situation of being stuck in a lovelorn marriage. The extreme lack of human touch in their lives let them discover the story of an ancient time, where Nita is the storyteller and Rouhi is the ardent listener. There is a story inside the story and both the stories run a parallel course smoothly.
The harsh weather which mirrors the citizens of Dubai only leaves Nita and Rouhi (who is from Egypt) , craving more for a meaningful relationship. They develop a friendship and love blossoms between them despite their class difference.
There is domestic abuse and mean relatives to make Rouhi's life miserable enough, but her ultimate courage makes me believe in the magic of love once more. The ending is unforgettable.
The friendship between Nita and Rouhi seems as if it has been blossomed under the shadow of Mariam and Laila from A Thousand Splendid Suns.
I loved the engaging storytelling and recommend this wholeheartedly. I had to take this book everywhere I went because of the hypnotic story.
TW: domestic abuse
Thank you @penguinindia and @rinjinimitra for this book.
December 7, 2024
The outsiders is a beautifully written novel that weaves together two compelling stories across different times. Nita, a teacher from Kerala, moves to 1990s Dubai, leaving behind her son to chase a better life. While adjusting to life as an immigrant, she builds an unexpected connection with her employer Rouhi and begins narrating the story of Darius, an ancient sailor navigating his own challenges in a foreign land.
The book is a story within a story. I really enjoyed how both the stories were connected, with Nita’s life running parallel to Darius’s journey, showing how both characters face challenges and search for a place to belong.. While the ending feels a bit rushed, the beauty of the outsiders lies in its heartfelt storytelling and emotional depth. And the vivid descriptions of Dubai and ancient Muziris added a lot to the atmosphere of the book.
Overall, it’s a touching story about finding connections and belonging in unexpected places. If you enjoy books that explore the feeling of being an outsider, this one will stay with you
The book is a story within a story. I really enjoyed how both the stories were connected, with Nita’s life running parallel to Darius’s journey, showing how both characters face challenges and search for a place to belong.. While the ending feels a bit rushed, the beauty of the outsiders lies in its heartfelt storytelling and emotional depth. And the vivid descriptions of Dubai and ancient Muziris added a lot to the atmosphere of the book.
Overall, it’s a touching story about finding connections and belonging in unexpected places. If you enjoy books that explore the feeling of being an outsider, this one will stay with you
December 25, 2024
I can remember when I started this book I wasn't expecting it to be something impeccably beautiful. How could someone tell a story of migrants, their life, struggle, existential crisis that also blended with historical story and the outstanding part is author used the historical part as metaphor!!
Thus became the most beautiful writing of this year's, a surrealism that delves into the life of a widow Nita who went to Dubai in search of a job that promises her good life and good education for her child, her inner loneliness could be compared as homeless people's nothingness. While negotiating with her life circumstances this book explores domestic violence, and in a magnificent articulated way this plot also breaches the timeline and knocks the door of 3000BC and lets the readers dive into a century old traveler's adventure towards Muziris.
This port became popular when Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians came to the Malabar Coast in search of spices in 3000 BC. And here comes the most beautiful blend in the novel. The historical adventure story aligned with Nita's heart, her desire for searching life, her desire for one last time getting out of her skin, shout to the face of this world and tell her dreams. That's where Devi Yeshodharan's novel turns into fantasy. A hardcore migrant struggle story that is very much a shadow of reality, crossed its genre and became surreal mesmerizing, story that dazzling with beautiful writing style.
An utterly beautiful novel, highly recommended.
Thus became the most beautiful writing of this year's, a surrealism that delves into the life of a widow Nita who went to Dubai in search of a job that promises her good life and good education for her child, her inner loneliness could be compared as homeless people's nothingness. While negotiating with her life circumstances this book explores domestic violence, and in a magnificent articulated way this plot also breaches the timeline and knocks the door of 3000BC and lets the readers dive into a century old traveler's adventure towards Muziris.
This port became popular when Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians came to the Malabar Coast in search of spices in 3000 BC. And here comes the most beautiful blend in the novel. The historical adventure story aligned with Nita's heart, her desire for searching life, her desire for one last time getting out of her skin, shout to the face of this world and tell her dreams. That's where Devi Yeshodharan's novel turns into fantasy. A hardcore migrant struggle story that is very much a shadow of reality, crossed its genre and became surreal mesmerizing, story that dazzling with beautiful writing style.
An utterly beautiful novel, highly recommended.
November 22, 2024
A single mother and a schoolteacher in Kerala, Nita accepted a job as an English teacher in Dubai because she was desperate for money and desired to build a beautiful & content future for her son. She was aware of the impact this long distance would have on her relationship with her son.
Away from her son, alone, and struggling to adjust as an immigrant, Nita found a home away from home in a person. Nita soon befriended her owner, Rouhi, the mother of the girl she tutored. As the friendship flourished between Nita & Rouhi, the former started narrating a story from Ancient India. The story of Darius is very similar to her own, both have set sail away from home to earn money, and both have found a home in a person at that place. Still, they are distorted between their future that awaits them back home or the one they built here, while reading the book it was sublime to see how Nita’s story became Dariuss’ and his became hers time and again.
Yesodharan has exceptional storytelling skills, she has the art of holding her reader's attention through the story. Talking about immigrants, money, love, lgbtq, domestic violence, single parenting, class distinction, and ancient history, she has somehow bought it all together, and that too gracefully. I would have loved to read an even longer version of this book, I felt like it was climaxed hurriedly. Nevertheless, reading this book was an experience.
Away from her son, alone, and struggling to adjust as an immigrant, Nita found a home away from home in a person. Nita soon befriended her owner, Rouhi, the mother of the girl she tutored. As the friendship flourished between Nita & Rouhi, the former started narrating a story from Ancient India. The story of Darius is very similar to her own, both have set sail away from home to earn money, and both have found a home in a person at that place. Still, they are distorted between their future that awaits them back home or the one they built here, while reading the book it was sublime to see how Nita’s story became Dariuss’ and his became hers time and again.
Yesodharan has exceptional storytelling skills, she has the art of holding her reader's attention through the story. Talking about immigrants, money, love, lgbtq, domestic violence, single parenting, class distinction, and ancient history, she has somehow bought it all together, and that too gracefully. I would have loved to read an even longer version of this book, I felt like it was climaxed hurriedly. Nevertheless, reading this book was an experience.
November 9, 2024
The Outsiders is a story within a story. Devi Yesodharan pursues the story of an immigrant Nita and her tryst with an unfamiliar society in the Dubai of 1990s. Nita starts weaving a story of Darius a sailor for her employer. The 2 stories unfold simultaneously for the reader.
The stories are intricately woven, with beautifully written characters and prose. The word imagery transports you to the time and place where the characters are. The book is an easy read, even though it balances the immigrant experience and newfound love.
“Home is where they want you to stay longer.” - The two protagonists try to make a new home, but the rules are different since they are Outsiders.
The stories are intricately woven, with beautifully written characters and prose. The word imagery transports you to the time and place where the characters are. The book is an easy read, even though it balances the immigrant experience and newfound love.
“Home is where they want you to stay longer.” - The two protagonists try to make a new home, but the rules are different since they are Outsiders.
November 20, 2024
I picked this book after having read Yeshodharan's first one. I couldn't put it down. There are two stories here which are connected in very interesting ways.
But even as you are reading the story and seeing Darius as a completely different person, you cannot help but think about why the narrator is making him do this, say that etc which gives a different colour to the second story in connection with the first.
I loved the descriptions of Dubai and Muchiri, both were like contrast images of each other. Seven year old Saba turned out to be my favourite character.
But even as you are reading the story and seeing Darius as a completely different person, you cannot help but think about why the narrator is making him do this, say that etc which gives a different colour to the second story in connection with the first.
I loved the descriptions of Dubai and Muchiri, both were like contrast images of each other. Seven year old Saba turned out to be my favourite character.
March 12, 2025
Most excellent! Draws you in and expertly balances the parallel stories. Some wonderful observations and lines that you will want to revisit.
January 3, 2025
I've moved cities numerous times, often to cities where language and culture have been poles opposite to what I've been exposed to. As much as the new opportunity was thrilling and exciting, and always, a trepidation in my heart over starting afresh in an alien city amongst a sea of strangers where Google Translate was my best friend.
I'm sure most of us have faced similar situations, be it when moving away from home or while traveling. The heart soars when you bump into someone who speaks the same language or knows the same songs and slangs.
Like a moth, you're drawn to that flame, seeking familiarity, savoring the moment. After all, we, human beings, are gregarious creatures who seek to make homes out of shells, homes in people, and surrounding ourselves with things that are intimate and dear.
Devi Yesodharan has crafted a story of such souls, ones who go to foreign lands for adventure or out of obligation, and those who belong to the land and still exist in the peripheries of their society.
Nita is a brilliant teacher, but money is scarce. The only way to provide for her son is to take up the role of a private tutor in Dubai. Rouhi is stuck in a loveless marriage. Starved of love and friendly faces, they seek each other out. Nita crafts stories, and Rouhi lives in them.
Yesodharan has seemlessly created two timelines weaving stories within the story, both equally captivating and engrossing.
Rouhi's marriage isn't lacking only of love, but is abusive too. Yesodharan tackles patriarchy and domestic violence with a heavy hand, but it's the glimmer of hope that love can conquer it all that keeps them going.
It's a book that's robbed me of words because there is so much I want to say, and yet, the words are lost when I feel the need to articulate.
This mesmerizing story is definitely one that everyone needs to read. You'll feel the characters pining their hopes on you to free them and engulf them in a tight embrace.
I'm sure most of us have faced similar situations, be it when moving away from home or while traveling. The heart soars when you bump into someone who speaks the same language or knows the same songs and slangs.
Like a moth, you're drawn to that flame, seeking familiarity, savoring the moment. After all, we, human beings, are gregarious creatures who seek to make homes out of shells, homes in people, and surrounding ourselves with things that are intimate and dear.
Devi Yesodharan has crafted a story of such souls, ones who go to foreign lands for adventure or out of obligation, and those who belong to the land and still exist in the peripheries of their society.
Nita is a brilliant teacher, but money is scarce. The only way to provide for her son is to take up the role of a private tutor in Dubai. Rouhi is stuck in a loveless marriage. Starved of love and friendly faces, they seek each other out. Nita crafts stories, and Rouhi lives in them.
Yesodharan has seemlessly created two timelines weaving stories within the story, both equally captivating and engrossing.
Rouhi's marriage isn't lacking only of love, but is abusive too. Yesodharan tackles patriarchy and domestic violence with a heavy hand, but it's the glimmer of hope that love can conquer it all that keeps them going.
It's a book that's robbed me of words because there is so much I want to say, and yet, the words are lost when I feel the need to articulate.
This mesmerizing story is definitely one that everyone needs to read. You'll feel the characters pining their hopes on you to free them and engulf them in a tight embrace.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews