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Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories
This stunning debut from O. Henry Prize winner Sindya Bhanoo offers intimate stories of South Indian immigrants and the families they left behind, centering women’s lives and asking how women claim and surrender power.
Traveling from Pittsburgh to Washington to Tamil Nadu, these astonishing stories about dislocation and dissonance see immigrants and their families confront the costs of leaving and staying, identifying sublime symmetries in lives growing apart.
In “Malliga Homes,” selected by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for an O. Henry Prize, a widow in a retirement community glimpses her future while waiting for her daughter to visit from America. In "No. 16 Model House Road," a woman long subordinate to her husband makes a choice of her own after she inherits a house. In "Nature Exchange," a mother grieving in the wake of a school shooting finds an unusual obsession. In "A Life in America," a professor finds himself accused of having exploited his graduate students.
Sindya Bhanoo’s haunting stories show us how immigrants’ paths, and the paths of those they leave behind, are never simple. Bhanoo takes us along on their complicated journeys where regret, hope, and triumph appear in disguise.
Traveling from Pittsburgh to Washington to Tamil Nadu, these astonishing stories about dislocation and dissonance see immigrants and their families confront the costs of leaving and staying, identifying sublime symmetries in lives growing apart.
In “Malliga Homes,” selected by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for an O. Henry Prize, a widow in a retirement community glimpses her future while waiting for her daughter to visit from America. In "No. 16 Model House Road," a woman long subordinate to her husband makes a choice of her own after she inherits a house. In "Nature Exchange," a mother grieving in the wake of a school shooting finds an unusual obsession. In "A Life in America," a professor finds himself accused of having exploited his graduate students.
Sindya Bhanoo’s haunting stories show us how immigrants’ paths, and the paths of those they leave behind, are never simple. Bhanoo takes us along on their complicated journeys where regret, hope, and triumph appear in disguise.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published February 15, 2022
62 people are currently reading
4578 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 151 reviews
June 13, 2023
It’s rare for me to give a short story collection more than three stars, though doing so for Seeking Fortune Elsewhere felt easy. Sindya Bhanoo offers an intimate view into the complex lives of South Indian immigrants living both in the United States and in India, as they navigate issues including grief and loss, heartbreak, cultural mismatches, estrangement from family members, community expectations, and more. Bhanoo’s short stories are generally on the longer side (~20 pages each) which I tend to like, especially because in this case these tales kept my attention from the first page to the last.
I think one of Bhanoo’s strengths as a writer is that she can create a strong emotional arc for her characters and show them to us through vivid yet understated scenes. Oftentimes I feel like short stories either don’t develop their characters well enough or they portray an interesting concept that doesn’t really go anywhere super satisfying. In these stories though, Bhanoo sets up each story with an interesting premise (e.g., an Indian professor whose former grad students reveal how he mistreated them years later, a woman grieving the loss of her son to a school shooting, a group of classmates who bullied a chubby girl who then grew into a powerful politician) and executes the emotional buildup and climax with accessible and moving prose. By the end of each story, I understood “the point,” instead of only feeling like the story was intriguing yet didn’t go anywhere. She also does a great job of showing and not telling and writing dialogue and scenes that all captured my attention.
My only constructive critique is that I felt that some of these stories lacked that extra oomph to take me to five star territory. There’s a softness to Bhanoo’s prose that I really enjoy and don’t necessarily want to shift, though at times I wanted more of an emotional impact. I suspect that may come as she continues to develop as a writer. Thankfully, these stories don’t center or idealize whiteness/white characters, at least from my reading of them, a low bar yet one that doesn’t always get met. I’m looking forward to Bhanoo’s future work!
I think one of Bhanoo’s strengths as a writer is that she can create a strong emotional arc for her characters and show them to us through vivid yet understated scenes. Oftentimes I feel like short stories either don’t develop their characters well enough or they portray an interesting concept that doesn’t really go anywhere super satisfying. In these stories though, Bhanoo sets up each story with an interesting premise (e.g., an Indian professor whose former grad students reveal how he mistreated them years later, a woman grieving the loss of her son to a school shooting, a group of classmates who bullied a chubby girl who then grew into a powerful politician) and executes the emotional buildup and climax with accessible and moving prose. By the end of each story, I understood “the point,” instead of only feeling like the story was intriguing yet didn’t go anywhere. She also does a great job of showing and not telling and writing dialogue and scenes that all captured my attention.
My only constructive critique is that I felt that some of these stories lacked that extra oomph to take me to five star territory. There’s a softness to Bhanoo’s prose that I really enjoy and don’t necessarily want to shift, though at times I wanted more of an emotional impact. I suspect that may come as she continues to develop as a writer. Thankfully, these stories don’t center or idealize whiteness/white characters, at least from my reading of them, a low bar yet one that doesn’t always get met. I’m looking forward to Bhanoo’s future work!
May 25, 2022
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3 ½ stars
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere presents its readers with a well-crafted collection of short stories mapping the paths of those who leave and those who are left behind. Set in America and southern India these narratives explore the realities of leaving one’s homeland behind, generational and cultural rifts, loneliness and connectedness, family and belonging. The first story, “Malliga Homes,”, which was selected by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for an O. Henry Prize, strikes the perfect balance between bittersweet and unsentimental. The narrator is a widow living in a retirement community in Tamil Nadu. She tells us that like most of the residents of Malliga Homes, she is there because she has lost her child to 'Foreign'. Kamala, her daughter, is the one who pushed her into ‘joining’ this community. She lives in America with her husband and child and has not visited the narrator in years, and in fact, keeps postponing and delaying her next visit. The author captures the microcosm that is this community, where parent(s) seem to outdo each other when it comes to their children's achievements and how close they are to them. The unaffected style really gives the narrative a rich sense of realism and results in a subtle yet resonant short story. Throughout this collection the author mines similar themes: characters struggle to reconcile themselves to their past actions or are forced to reassess the past; they may long and yearn for the ‘what-ifs’ of the roads not taken; they flit between hope and regret; they desire a place and a people they can belong to. The more effective stories are the ones that focus on a particular period phase of a character’s life whereas the ones that did not quite succeed in reeling me in were the ones that attempted to cover too much of a character’s life. In these instances, the author isn’t quite able to achieve the rich in detail storytelling that she showcases in her more concise stories, where we glimpse a day or a week in a character’s life (rather than their whole life).
Nevertheless Seeking Fortune Elsewhere is a promising debut and I really loved the author's understated yet incisive writing style.
some quotes:
“We were in that stage of life and motherhood that is filled with fatigue, unimaginable to the young, forgotten by the old, unknown altogether to those without children.”
“The offspring of the rich are rich, and they do not seek their fortunes elsewhere.”
“The time between childhood and old age passes quickly, leaving you feeling like your entire life is a double feature with no intermission.”
“What our children do, how much money they make, whether our grandchildren are bright or mediocre—all of this matters. It is a tragedy to have a brilliant child and a dunce of a grandchild.”
“[F]or all the space and privacy that America offers, it is a country that longs for life. You go for a drive and the road is endless.”
“He remembered the loneliness, the immense sorrow that came from going months without uttering a word of Tamil. There was no way for him to express certain thoughts, certain feelings, in the English language.”
3 ½ stars
“The memory of the past, the futility of the future, it leaves her breathless.”
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere presents its readers with a well-crafted collection of short stories mapping the paths of those who leave and those who are left behind. Set in America and southern India these narratives explore the realities of leaving one’s homeland behind, generational and cultural rifts, loneliness and connectedness, family and belonging. The first story, “Malliga Homes,”, which was selected by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for an O. Henry Prize, strikes the perfect balance between bittersweet and unsentimental. The narrator is a widow living in a retirement community in Tamil Nadu. She tells us that like most of the residents of Malliga Homes, she is there because she has lost her child to 'Foreign'. Kamala, her daughter, is the one who pushed her into ‘joining’ this community. She lives in America with her husband and child and has not visited the narrator in years, and in fact, keeps postponing and delaying her next visit. The author captures the microcosm that is this community, where parent(s) seem to outdo each other when it comes to their children's achievements and how close they are to them. The unaffected style really gives the narrative a rich sense of realism and results in a subtle yet resonant short story. Throughout this collection the author mines similar themes: characters struggle to reconcile themselves to their past actions or are forced to reassess the past; they may long and yearn for the ‘what-ifs’ of the roads not taken; they flit between hope and regret; they desire a place and a people they can belong to. The more effective stories are the ones that focus on a particular period phase of a character’s life whereas the ones that did not quite succeed in reeling me in were the ones that attempted to cover too much of a character’s life. In these instances, the author isn’t quite able to achieve the rich in detail storytelling that she showcases in her more concise stories, where we glimpse a day or a week in a character’s life (rather than their whole life).
Nevertheless Seeking Fortune Elsewhere is a promising debut and I really loved the author's understated yet incisive writing style.
some quotes:
“We were in that stage of life and motherhood that is filled with fatigue, unimaginable to the young, forgotten by the old, unknown altogether to those without children.”
“The offspring of the rich are rich, and they do not seek their fortunes elsewhere.”
“The time between childhood and old age passes quickly, leaving you feeling like your entire life is a double feature with no intermission.”
“What our children do, how much money they make, whether our grandchildren are bright or mediocre—all of this matters. It is a tragedy to have a brilliant child and a dunce of a grandchild.”
“[F]or all the space and privacy that America offers, it is a country that longs for life. You go for a drive and the road is endless.”
“He remembered the loneliness, the immense sorrow that came from going months without uttering a word of Tamil. There was no way for him to express certain thoughts, certain feelings, in the English language.”
March 10, 2022
The writing is good. The characters and the stories quite realistic. A short short story collection. Recommending it for the beginners.
October 28, 2022
I read this book after seeing Rincey Reads YouTube review. She rarely rates a book 5 stars but she love this. It is a book thatI really enjoyed.There are 8 stories and most are multigenerational. In some, the parents, or widowed mother, still live in India. Some of my ideas about life in India were expanded. One thing I had not considered was what happened to aging parents who remained in India after their children immigrate - the subject of one story. There is a very touching story about a woman whose young autistic son dies. The final story that I found very sad was about a woman who divorces her husband, who stays in Eastern Washington, with their two teenage daughters.
This was 4.5 stars for me. I prefer shorter short stories. These averaged 25-30 pages. Nevertheless, this is a collection for readers who want to delve into lives that may be different from their own, as well as people who will find many familiar cultural details that they can relate to.
This was 4.5 stars for me. I prefer shorter short stories. These averaged 25-30 pages. Nevertheless, this is a collection for readers who want to delve into lives that may be different from their own, as well as people who will find many familiar cultural details that they can relate to.
April 26, 2023
100 % must read stories
August 1, 2022
If you, like me, have been waiting for a book that would twist your heart and make you feel that same ache you felt the first time you read Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘Interpreter of Maladies,’ this is it. ‘Seeking Fortune Elsewhere’ is that book.
Sindya Bhanoo has that same gift of making small, domestic moments feel worthy of pause and thought. Every single story in this collection was sad and familiar in a way that is almost eerie. Some of the stories had characters in common, which I enjoyed, and all of them featured Tamil Indian or Indian-American characters, which I loved. Bhanoo doesn’t pander to non-Indian readers by over-explaining cultural references and she doesn’t exoticize or fetishize Indian culture with incense wafting everywhere or mehendi on everyone’s hands or whatever. Her writing is crisp and well-edited — again, much appreciated. I’m super picky.
I am so glad I randomly picked up this collection at the library. I think it was fate. I thought about each story for a long time afterwards and will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I meet.
Sindya Bhanoo has that same gift of making small, domestic moments feel worthy of pause and thought. Every single story in this collection was sad and familiar in a way that is almost eerie. Some of the stories had characters in common, which I enjoyed, and all of them featured Tamil Indian or Indian-American characters, which I loved. Bhanoo doesn’t pander to non-Indian readers by over-explaining cultural references and she doesn’t exoticize or fetishize Indian culture with incense wafting everywhere or mehendi on everyone’s hands or whatever. Her writing is crisp and well-edited — again, much appreciated. I’m super picky.
I am so glad I randomly picked up this collection at the library. I think it was fate. I thought about each story for a long time afterwards and will definitely be recommending this book to everyone I meet.
September 5, 2023
favs: buddymoon, amma & nature exchange
April 27, 2022
This book absolutely destroyed me. It’s the first collection of short stories about Tamil American immigrations I’ve ever read, and it was masterful. The stories contain diverse characters and situations but still share a distinct sense of melancholy and immigrant ennui. In this regard I think there’s a ready comparison to be made with Jhumpa Lahiri — similar restrained writing style, family-centered stories, sadness — but I felt this author actually had a wider imagination, writing not just about one type of immigrant family, but also about the elder generation left behind in India, as well as complex stories set in Tamil Nadu. I loved 'Malliga Homes' and 'Amma' because of their new perspective on Tamil femininity.
December 31, 2022
4.5 stars
I absolutely loved every story in this collection. Highly recommend it if you are into contemporary, realistic short stories
Watch me discuss it in my September Wrap Up: https://youtu.be/N6BXSHbdkaA
I absolutely loved every story in this collection. Highly recommend it if you are into contemporary, realistic short stories
Watch me discuss it in my September Wrap Up: https://youtu.be/N6BXSHbdkaA
March 31, 2022
I love story collections where every story takes you somewhere new and unexpected and each story is beautiful and memorable on its own.
October 28, 2022
As a child of the South Indian diaspora, I found this incredibly difficult to read, but that’s probably why it was important I read it. Bhanoo tells our stories (mine, my mother’s, my grandmother’s…) with such precision that it hurts. This work is subtle and beautiful, reminiscent of Lahiri’s “Interpreter of Maladies” (but with Tamilian representation!) and occupies a similarly special place in my heart.
August 4, 2023
I really enjoyed this collection of stories I picked up on a whim, focused on Tamil Indian/American diaspora people.
There are some poignant, beautiful lines throughout. I liked that many stories featured older people, often women grappling with things like being left alone or behind after family have emigrated or passed away, power dynamics in relationships, lots of grief and broken families, and community.
In the first story, a woman in a care facility just outside Bangalore informs people of her daughter and granddaughter's impending visit from America. She reflects on the loss of an older man friend in the care home - her daughter is never coming too busy with work.
'A Life in America', the next story, is soo good about an Indian/American professor accused by his former Indian students in America of using them for free labour over the years. He argues that he tries to replicate the community back home and did not intend to recreate societal hierarchies from back home, often having these students mow his lawn or help preserve his family's belongings during a flood. It's murky, melancholic, and conflicting about power dynamics and cultural importation/clashes.
'Buddymoon' is about a woman attending her daughter's wedding but feeling removed / not a part of the family after her husband divorces her and keeps the children. Again an older woman touches on arranged vs love marriages, forming a community away from home, and it's quite thoughtful.
'Amma' is told from a group of older women pov about their friend who they bullied as school girls. About the many ways in which women find power in society, from being a celebrity/actress to politics. This clearly had some nostalgic references for the right audience and covered a considerable time frame and POVs. It also had a sort of fun slant due to the POV despite some awful stuff happening esp re the bullying.
In 'nature exchange', a woman grieves the loss of her seven-year-old son by attempting to continue racking up points on her son's old account at a park to win a t-shirt he was saving his points for. It touches on gun violence in America and grief as a couple. This was so sad and had some beautiful writing. "There are people who let their wounds heal, and there are those who pick at them and pick at them," he said. "I can't be picking."
His holiness was not my favourite, but the last two stories, 'No 16 model house' and 'three trips', were interesting stories about women and power in marriage and a cousin ruminating on a familial estrangement due to alcoholism.
Overall a solid debut collection, but one of my least favourite elements was the ending of almost every story felt incomplete, almost bereft, but the length of some of the stories made up for it, and I enjoyed it enough.
There are some poignant, beautiful lines throughout. I liked that many stories featured older people, often women grappling with things like being left alone or behind after family have emigrated or passed away, power dynamics in relationships, lots of grief and broken families, and community.
In the first story, a woman in a care facility just outside Bangalore informs people of her daughter and granddaughter's impending visit from America. She reflects on the loss of an older man friend in the care home - her daughter is never coming too busy with work.
'A Life in America', the next story, is soo good about an Indian/American professor accused by his former Indian students in America of using them for free labour over the years. He argues that he tries to replicate the community back home and did not intend to recreate societal hierarchies from back home, often having these students mow his lawn or help preserve his family's belongings during a flood. It's murky, melancholic, and conflicting about power dynamics and cultural importation/clashes.
'Buddymoon' is about a woman attending her daughter's wedding but feeling removed / not a part of the family after her husband divorces her and keeps the children. Again an older woman touches on arranged vs love marriages, forming a community away from home, and it's quite thoughtful.
'Amma' is told from a group of older women pov about their friend who they bullied as school girls. About the many ways in which women find power in society, from being a celebrity/actress to politics. This clearly had some nostalgic references for the right audience and covered a considerable time frame and POVs. It also had a sort of fun slant due to the POV despite some awful stuff happening esp re the bullying.
In 'nature exchange', a woman grieves the loss of her seven-year-old son by attempting to continue racking up points on her son's old account at a park to win a t-shirt he was saving his points for. It touches on gun violence in America and grief as a couple. This was so sad and had some beautiful writing. "There are people who let their wounds heal, and there are those who pick at them and pick at them," he said. "I can't be picking."
His holiness was not my favourite, but the last two stories, 'No 16 model house' and 'three trips', were interesting stories about women and power in marriage and a cousin ruminating on a familial estrangement due to alcoholism.
Overall a solid debut collection, but one of my least favourite elements was the ending of almost every story felt incomplete, almost bereft, but the length of some of the stories made up for it, and I enjoyed it enough.
November 29, 2022
Not that spectacularly great as blurbed and proclaimed
April 26, 2025
i didn’t appreciate this collection the first time i read it, but now i see the heart and tenderness and grief woven through it. it is such a privilege to return to old stories as a new person and be cracked open anew
December 12, 2021
3 1/2 stars
A slim collection of stories told from a female point of view of Indian immigrants and their families back home. We glimpse life from the people left in India whose children have left for someplace better sending home empty promises of returning or visiting. There are visions of a better life in the new country but it is not without the disconnect of leaving your comfortable surroundings and culture. Every story is based on a journey - wished for or undertaken and now unable to make the trip home. These stories do serve as connective thread proving that people are people no matter where they are from and there is something for every reader to relate to. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
A slim collection of stories told from a female point of view of Indian immigrants and their families back home. We glimpse life from the people left in India whose children have left for someplace better sending home empty promises of returning or visiting. There are visions of a better life in the new country but it is not without the disconnect of leaving your comfortable surroundings and culture. Every story is based on a journey - wished for or undertaken and now unable to make the trip home. These stories do serve as connective thread proving that people are people no matter where they are from and there is something for every reader to relate to. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.
November 11, 2021
Seeking Fortune Elsewhere puts a spotlight on Indian women and the roles they fulfill in their families and communities, as well as the varying degrees of being immersed or estranged from their culture. Many of these narratives take place between India and Eastern Washington state, and if you listen closely, you'll find many of these characters are connected. Grief, love, and scandal are a few focal points that charge this emotionally moving and often poignant debut collection from O. Henry prize winner Bhanoo, and it's certainly not to be missed.
November 23, 2021
Thank you to Catapult Press for the Advanced Reader's Copy!
Available Feb 2022
Sindya Bhanoo's Seeking Fortune Elsewhere is an intimate look into contemporary South Indian American women's lives. Her characters and plot lines are remarkably lifelike and honest. This collection feels like the stories of my family, the stories of my aunts and classmates and cousins. Bhanoo captures the complexities of our lived experiences and creates a resonant, wonderful patchwork that can be returned to again and again. A wonderful debut.
Available Feb 2022
Sindya Bhanoo's Seeking Fortune Elsewhere is an intimate look into contemporary South Indian American women's lives. Her characters and plot lines are remarkably lifelike and honest. This collection feels like the stories of my family, the stories of my aunts and classmates and cousins. Bhanoo captures the complexities of our lived experiences and creates a resonant, wonderful patchwork that can be returned to again and again. A wonderful debut.
March 21, 2022
Just finished this, and find myself speechless at the depth and quiet beauty of each of the stories. Bhanoo has the uncanny ability to pull us inside the lives of her subjects and let us experience their world - otherwise completely alien to me, as an older white, American man - as if it were our own. I felt as though I understood what her subjects felt and could almost see through their eyes, and felt, at the end of each story, like I was waking from a dream and having to remember that what I had experienced wasn't real.
March 11, 2022
This short story collection is quite the gem. It's hard to believe that it's a debut, it's that good. Thematically related, these short stories are centered around South Indian women, both here and abroad as they make choices about where they want to go. These women are bound by grief and hope and are connected by journeys past, present or future.
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
March 2022 staff pick
I received an arc from the publisher but all opinions are my own.
March 2022 staff pick
January 6, 2022
In the eight stories in this remarkable collection, Sindya Bhanoo intrepidly explores the lives of disconnected families. She writes of bonds that are bent, bruised, and shattered. She uses the power of memory to illuminate these lives, with their layers of pain, regret, grief, and love. And the memories become our own.
July 20, 2022
Sindya Bhanoo illuminates the inner lives of women in India and America in this winning debut collection.
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MARCH 18, 2022
Yearning drives the characters in Sindya Bhanoo's elegant, sensitive debut collection "Seeking Fortune Elsewhere." The characters long for appreciation, absent loved ones, the customs of yesteryear, or the opportunity to exercise power. Bhanoo's stories feature several generations of characters from the Tamil community, living in the United States and Tamil Nadu, India, and traveling between.
Two of the most resonant stories in the collection, "Malliga Homes," which won the O. Henry Prize, and "No. 16 Model House Road," depict an India in which tech booms in the bustling cites of Bangalore and Chennai have skyrocketed housing prices. Developers offer elders incentives to move or allow their small homes to transform into apartment buildings in exchange for an updated flat.
In "Malliga Homes," the narrator, who moved to a well-appointed retirement community after her husband died, explains, "Like me, nearly every resident of Malliga Homes has lost sons and daughters to Foreign." As the residents dash back to their apartments to answer infrequent phone calls from their children, and have few decisions to make except for what to have for dinner, there's a sense there is little for them to do but wait to die.
In "No. 16 Model House Road," however, the protagonist seizes her one chance to exert control after the course of her entire life has been decided for her, and she relishes her small rebellion. Bhanoo focuses her keen attention on these women, who are no longer at the center of their family's lives and are often overlooked.
Gauri, the protagonist of "Buddymoon," similarly chose to use the first tiny bit of power she obtained. She immigrated to Pullman, Wash., for an arranged marriage, and one day, after she'd half raised two children, her husband suddenly announced he wanted a divorce. Rather than stay in the house as he suggested, Gauri chose to move to California, which forced her into relative poverty and estrangement from her girls.
Often, there's no triumphant choice for these women, but Bhanoo shows how the act of choosing preserves their dignity.
In two stories, characters style themselves as spiritual leaders, one more successfully than the other. A group of women in southern India who watch a former classmate overcome their mistreatment to become a famous Kollywood actress, a politician, and ultimately something of a goddess figure, collectively narrate "Amma."
"She appeals to the fisherman, the rickshaw driver, the bricklayer," they explain. Still, as the narrators reflect, "She cannot seem to keep a friend." In "His Holiness," an American teenager watches her down-at-the-heels immigrant academic father attempt to transform himself into a "Spiritual Leader and Scholar-Mystic," as described in brochures for his poorly attended seminars.
The teenage daughter perspective on the situation is perfect — if you ever thought your teenagers found you annoying, wait until you claim you're a font of divine wisdom.
These eight stories investigate the many ways that loneliness can enter a life and Bhanoo makes the reader feel every heartbreak through her skillful, measured prose.
Jenny Shank's story collection, "Mixed Company," won the Colorado Book Award and the George Garrett Fiction Prize and her novel, "The Ringer," won the High Plains Book Award.
https://www.startribune.com/review-se...
Minneapolis Star Tribune, MARCH 18, 2022
Yearning drives the characters in Sindya Bhanoo's elegant, sensitive debut collection "Seeking Fortune Elsewhere." The characters long for appreciation, absent loved ones, the customs of yesteryear, or the opportunity to exercise power. Bhanoo's stories feature several generations of characters from the Tamil community, living in the United States and Tamil Nadu, India, and traveling between.
Two of the most resonant stories in the collection, "Malliga Homes," which won the O. Henry Prize, and "No. 16 Model House Road," depict an India in which tech booms in the bustling cites of Bangalore and Chennai have skyrocketed housing prices. Developers offer elders incentives to move or allow their small homes to transform into apartment buildings in exchange for an updated flat.
In "Malliga Homes," the narrator, who moved to a well-appointed retirement community after her husband died, explains, "Like me, nearly every resident of Malliga Homes has lost sons and daughters to Foreign." As the residents dash back to their apartments to answer infrequent phone calls from their children, and have few decisions to make except for what to have for dinner, there's a sense there is little for them to do but wait to die.
In "No. 16 Model House Road," however, the protagonist seizes her one chance to exert control after the course of her entire life has been decided for her, and she relishes her small rebellion. Bhanoo focuses her keen attention on these women, who are no longer at the center of their family's lives and are often overlooked.
Gauri, the protagonist of "Buddymoon," similarly chose to use the first tiny bit of power she obtained. She immigrated to Pullman, Wash., for an arranged marriage, and one day, after she'd half raised two children, her husband suddenly announced he wanted a divorce. Rather than stay in the house as he suggested, Gauri chose to move to California, which forced her into relative poverty and estrangement from her girls.
Often, there's no triumphant choice for these women, but Bhanoo shows how the act of choosing preserves their dignity.
In two stories, characters style themselves as spiritual leaders, one more successfully than the other. A group of women in southern India who watch a former classmate overcome their mistreatment to become a famous Kollywood actress, a politician, and ultimately something of a goddess figure, collectively narrate "Amma."
"She appeals to the fisherman, the rickshaw driver, the bricklayer," they explain. Still, as the narrators reflect, "She cannot seem to keep a friend." In "His Holiness," an American teenager watches her down-at-the-heels immigrant academic father attempt to transform himself into a "Spiritual Leader and Scholar-Mystic," as described in brochures for his poorly attended seminars.
The teenage daughter perspective on the situation is perfect — if you ever thought your teenagers found you annoying, wait until you claim you're a font of divine wisdom.
These eight stories investigate the many ways that loneliness can enter a life and Bhanoo makes the reader feel every heartbreak through her skillful, measured prose.
Jenny Shank's story collection, "Mixed Company," won the Colorado Book Award and the George Garrett Fiction Prize and her novel, "The Ringer," won the High Plains Book Award.
https://www.startribune.com/review-se...
September 1, 2022
FYI~ The Goodreads book description is taken from the Harvard Review (Rajpreet Heir) without attribution.
Even though these stories are especially representative of Indian dilemmas between embracing tradition and family vs. embracing an alternative culture, lifestyle, and economic condition, much of what happens in these stories could be recast for American-born people who relocate from one part of the country to another (e.g., South Carolina to California). Does a South Carolina native stick with the culture and lifestyle that their parents and grandparents have had and appreciate the proximity to "family" or do they flee the heat, the conservatism, and the poverty to a place that better suits their desires for moderate temperatures, a more liberal California Coastal life, and the opportunity to live amidst greater economic opportunity? (I'm trying to parallel the contrasts in Seeking Fortune Elsewhere, not to suggest that the comparison could not be made to make South Carolina more enticing.)
While I enjoyed the stories, particularly "No. 16 Model House", I found few of them stayed in my mind, even when I had just finished reading those stories. I took away the sentiments of the dilemmas but did not find the characters particularly compelling, other than Latha (in "No. 16.."). This story could have taken place in almost any part of the world, and it is this universality of a woman repressed by her husband, one who finally finds a way to have agency in her own life, that will allow readers around the globe to appreciate what in this story speaks to them and their circumstances as well.
Even though these stories are especially representative of Indian dilemmas between embracing tradition and family vs. embracing an alternative culture, lifestyle, and economic condition, much of what happens in these stories could be recast for American-born people who relocate from one part of the country to another (e.g., South Carolina to California). Does a South Carolina native stick with the culture and lifestyle that their parents and grandparents have had and appreciate the proximity to "family" or do they flee the heat, the conservatism, and the poverty to a place that better suits their desires for moderate temperatures, a more liberal California Coastal life, and the opportunity to live amidst greater economic opportunity? (I'm trying to parallel the contrasts in Seeking Fortune Elsewhere, not to suggest that the comparison could not be made to make South Carolina more enticing.)
While I enjoyed the stories, particularly "No. 16 Model House", I found few of them stayed in my mind, even when I had just finished reading those stories. I took away the sentiments of the dilemmas but did not find the characters particularly compelling, other than Latha (in "No. 16.."). This story could have taken place in almost any part of the world, and it is this universality of a woman repressed by her husband, one who finally finds a way to have agency in her own life, that will allow readers around the globe to appreciate what in this story speaks to them and their circumstances as well.
April 28, 2022
This was an enjoyable read. In parts funny, nostalgic and thoughtful. The author does a remarkable job of story-telling. Concise and yet with vivid imagery, that brought memories flooding back for many of us from India. Some stories hit home more than others, but it's been a while since I read a compilation of short stories that I could read with an eagerness.
No spoilers but here's a quick one liner on what I enjoyed most with each story.
1. Malliga Homes - I understand this won an O Henry, but as much as I loved the story and emotions, I found it to be cliched.
2. A life in America - A sad story (that didnt sound morose) of misunderstanding between generations and cultures. (so much of that has happened in my life too)
3. Buddymoon - This just made me mad and angry for the protagonist. The choices a woman makes in an effort to hold peace can somehow work against her at the end.
4. Amma - totally fun and nostalgic read. So much of real life woven into a narrative
5. Nature Exchange - imho, this should have won the O Henry. I teared up a little.
6. His Holiness - This was tad bizarre and again unfair on the females.
7. No. 16 Model House - I liked it. Towards the end I could feel the new found power coursing through her veins.
8. Three Trips - This was a sweet and poignant one. Unfortunate too, but the ending made me wonder on all the cousin references.
That said, I liked the quick and sharp ways each story was told. So tight, there wasn't an extra line or word that seemed excessive or pointless.
No spoilers but here's a quick one liner on what I enjoyed most with each story.
1. Malliga Homes - I understand this won an O Henry, but as much as I loved the story and emotions, I found it to be cliched.
2. A life in America - A sad story (that didnt sound morose) of misunderstanding between generations and cultures. (so much of that has happened in my life too)
3. Buddymoon - This just made me mad and angry for the protagonist. The choices a woman makes in an effort to hold peace can somehow work against her at the end.
4. Amma - totally fun and nostalgic read. So much of real life woven into a narrative
5. Nature Exchange - imho, this should have won the O Henry. I teared up a little.
6. His Holiness - This was tad bizarre and again unfair on the females.
7. No. 16 Model House - I liked it. Towards the end I could feel the new found power coursing through her veins.
8. Three Trips - This was a sweet and poignant one. Unfortunate too, but the ending made me wonder on all the cousin references.
That said, I liked the quick and sharp ways each story was told. So tight, there wasn't an extra line or word that seemed excessive or pointless.
September 13, 2025
I absolutely loved Sindya Bhanoo's book, Seeking Fortune Elsewhere. It's a collection of short stories that I'll be thinking about for a long time.
The author does an amazing job of making you feel invested in the characters' lives. These are stories about everyday people, and you get to see them make mistakes and have regrets. It's powerful to see the consequences of their actions, and it makes you think about your own life. I felt as if I was in close contact with these characters, I was able to vicariously live through them, it’s a great reminder that the most interesting stories are often the ones about ordinary people just like us.
Gemini recommended this book to me, so thank you AI!
The author does an amazing job of making you feel invested in the characters' lives. These are stories about everyday people, and you get to see them make mistakes and have regrets. It's powerful to see the consequences of their actions, and it makes you think about your own life. I felt as if I was in close contact with these characters, I was able to vicariously live through them, it’s a great reminder that the most interesting stories are often the ones about ordinary people just like us.
Gemini recommended this book to me, so thank you AI!
July 25, 2023
Wow…really great stories…all more or less melancholy and touching on matters of family estrangement and separation, grief and loss, and cultural displacement and change. Don’t let the somewhat downer subjects put you off…there’s so much that is appealing in the writing, and moments of quiet beauty, grace, and joy throughout the collection. I hope there’s a novel coming from this author…it should be terrific.
August 27, 2023
As it happens with the majority of highly acclaimed works, this one was not “spectacular” and fell flat. The hardships of immigration are briefly touched upon, even though you are led to believe they are a main focus.
The commentary on the non-existent American Dream could have been more nuanced as well.
Overall, just another collection of short stories that want to be more thought-provoking than they actually are.
The commentary on the non-existent American Dream could have been more nuanced as well.
Overall, just another collection of short stories that want to be more thought-provoking than they actually are.
January 27, 2023
I was recommended this book by The Center for Fiction as part of my Novel Approach reading consultation, and it did not disappoint. Each short story, distinct and beautifully written, stayed with me long after I finished. I resonate with another reader’s comment that Bhanoo does not over explain cultural references and I am so appreciative of that. These stories are meaningful, descriptive, and emotional rich. Some were harder to read than others, touching on themes of loss, identity, and longing. All in all, I really enjoyed this read.
March 14, 2022
I am immediately drawn in with each new beginning of every story, wanting more as each plot develops. Sindya develops the characters and plots in a way that makes you feel every emotion- sadness, happiness, love, loneliness, and empathy. I especially loved reading all the additional details Sindya adds that help to set each scene such as the smells and flavors of food, the bright colors of a sari, or even the descriptions of the homes. I throughly enjoyed reading and connecting with each short story in this collection. Well done.
March 20, 2022
These stories were so well-written and powerful. As a whole, this collection explores the immigrant experience and how South Indian women navigate varying issues. My absolute favorite (and really one of the best short stories I've read in a while) was "Nature Exchange," which touches on the tragedy of a shooting. I sobbed at the end. Others I enjoyed were "Malliga Homes" about a widowed woman who waits for her daughter to visit from her home in America. All in all this collection does a wonderful job exploring a very specific experience--immigrating from South India--through the lens of broad issues experienced by all. I really liked this one and look forward to more from Bhanoo.
April 1, 2022
Very impressive debut. This book has been on my radar ever since I read Bhanoo's work in The Best Short Stories 2021: The O. Henry Prize Winners. There wasn't a story I didn't like in this collection. Bhanoo's talent and craftsmanship shone through every single story; she demonstrated an array of different style of narratives and characters. The author's grasp on the complexity of humanity and the characters' inner conflicts was astonishing.
The common thread that tied all the stories together (at least how I interpreted it) is cultural and/or family estrangement. We follow Indian women of different ages and backgrounds, taking agency and claiming their lives, identities and choices as their own. (I say "Indian women" but there's one that's told from a man's POV, which felt a bit out of place. Not to say the story wasn't great, but somehow I had the impression that this collection focuses on women so was surprised to havev came across that particular story LOL)
I appreciated all pieces in this book; beautiful stories told in stunning voices that demanded my full attention. But if i were to name a few of my personal favorites, I'd say Buddymoon, Amma and His Holiness.
The common thread that tied all the stories together (at least how I interpreted it) is cultural and/or family estrangement. We follow Indian women of different ages and backgrounds, taking agency and claiming their lives, identities and choices as their own. (I say "Indian women" but there's one that's told from a man's POV, which felt a bit out of place. Not to say the story wasn't great, but somehow I had the impression that this collection focuses on women so was surprised to havev came across that particular story LOL)
I appreciated all pieces in this book; beautiful stories told in stunning voices that demanded my full attention. But if i were to name a few of my personal favorites, I'd say Buddymoon, Amma and His Holiness.
Rating System
★★★★★+: to-die for, life-changing
★★★★★: brilliant, recommend wholeheartedly
★★★★✩: liked a lot with some minor issues regarding personal preferences
★★★✩✩: appreciated but struggled to finish or a bit forgettable
★★✩✩✩: would not recommend
★✩✩✩✩: yikes, i warned you
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