Love, Loss, and Lost Causes

by Sahil Mehta

Ravi moved to the U.S. as a teenager to escape the ambient terrors of growing up gay in India. The novel picks up Ravi’s story a couple of decades later, when he meets two very different men who will change his life forever. Usman works at a resort in Goa where Ravi and his family are vacationing. Their connection is instantaneous, but the odds are stacked against the pair right from the get-go. Usman is young, closeted, and deeply conflicted about reconciling his sexuality with his religious beliefs and cultural expectations. Ravi lives in Boston, and their lives seem worlds apart, literally and figuratively. Adam is carefree and seemingly perfect, except that he doesn’t believe in monogamy or long-term relationships, both of which he considers fossilized relics of an outdated, heteronormative era. Adam and Usman both force Ravi to reckon with his own past as he explores the space between love and loneliness.

249 pages, ebook

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

A queer book centering Indian men by an Indian author? It immediately sounded like a much needed breath of fresh air. I'm so glad this book exists!

Love, Loss, and Lost Causes explores what it's like to be gay from so many aspects. I grew up in a country with rampant homophobia, so --while my experience is nothing like the picture Mehta paints-- I could relate to certain parts of it. (There's a reason I personally didn't come out until I moved to a different country.)

We follow Ravi, who moved to the US at 17 and gets to live a life that wouldn't have been possible in his home country. At the same time, he can't seem to fully take advantage of this opportunity, for reasons he has to unpack. When he meets Usman at a resort in Goa, they have an instant connection, but Usman has to face the face many of the same --terrifying!-- problems that Ravi himself had moved away from.
Once back in Boston, Ravi meets Adam, who starts pulling him in a different direction.

Our three protagonists all experience what it's like to be gay in different ways yet I love how they each have their own distinct voices. The intricacies of their cultural backgrounds are so visible in their every move and thought. All of them have a rich inner monologue and the novel focuses on those a lot more than on their interactions, so we get to know these men as deeply as they know themselves.

I especially enjoyed seeing the contrast between how Ravi and Usman go through immigration when they travel. It was a subtle but powerful way to show how differently officials often treat people based on where they come from. This book is a genuine exploration that I think more people should read.


Thank you to the author for telling me about his book and giving me an ARC!

[Fadi Kanaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

heartwarming and beautiful

Excellent novel. A page turner. What a wonderful and fun book about love and loss across cultural divides. Highly recommended.

[Laura Slade · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great beach read or rainy day read. Very conversational style with very distinct voices. I was immediately invested in these characters' emotional lives and the ways their cultural background shaped them. If you love long, heart-to-heart conversations in cafes with your best friend, you'll love this book.

[Rhonda Struminger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed getting to know Ravi and Usman. Their internal dialogue and struggles with how to live authentically while honoring their familiers and responsibilities was thought-provoking and endearing. The cultural details integrated into the book - the foods, language, and locations - were especially appreciated. It was an emotional, satisfying read. Recommend!

[Sahil Sood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Sahil Mehta’s novel, “Love, Loss, and Lost Causes,” was a rare pleasure. Not only is it a smart and confident debut — of which I had no doubt, having read some of his early published short pieces — but also a novel of surprising warmth and emotional clarity, one that is guaranteed to become a defining piece of his writing career.

What struck me as most impressive, however, is his ability to conjure worlds and clashing realities through sharply distinct voices, revealing the barriers of class, ethnicity, nationality, and religion — all the forces that shape social life, making his characters deeply relatable and their search for love and companionship fraught with challenges, both expected and unexpected, wholly convincing.

Whether it’s Ravi, Adam, or Usman — the three main characters whose voices shape and carry the narrative forward — each, with his own distinct self, finds himself at an intersection in life as their paths collide unexpectedly, kindling fresh hopes and desires and forcing them to confront and question not only themselves but the choices they’ve made to conceal their feelings, as they struggle toward acceptance — of their identities and their place within the worlds they inhabit — sometimes through brokering unwilling compromises, but more often through courage and steady resilience, forging their futures with quiet resolve.

Funny, touching, and tender, it’s a work of love and ache, of determination and defiance — a novel that will stay with you, one you’ll find yourself recommending to friends, family, and colleagues for a long time.