And Laughter Fell From the Sky
Jyotsna Sreenivasan

William Morrow Paperbacks
June 19, 2012 / ISBN978-0062105769
Contemporary Fiction
Amazon

Reviewed by Linda Morelli

Rasika has a good career in Ohio, with a high paying job and a modicum of independence. Though Americanized, she agrees to have her parents arrange her future marriage, as is Indian tradition. She hopes they will find a good husband who will provide her with the finer things in life. Then she meets an old family friend, Abhay.

Abhay has returned home to Kent from a West Virginia commune, disillusioned about love and commune life after finding his first love in bed with another man. Fully aware of Indian traditions, but being more Americanized, he believes Rasika should realize that life is more than obeying one's parents and tells Rasika to "create" herself, to find out what it is that she truly wants in life.

Rasika remains materialistic, preferring to follow tradition, her ultimate goal to have others realize how elegant and beautiful she is. After spurning one possible husband and hiding her dislike for another, Rasika begins to realize that her dream husband may not exist. After the two meet again by chance in India, Abhay admits he loves Rasika, but it may be too late.

Abhay is a lost soul, flying from job to job, unable to follow his own advice and "create" himself. Rasika's egocentricity made it difficult for me to relate to her at first, and the romance was slow to develop. I feel this book is more about family traditions and renewed friendship, but the author has written an engaging story, one that provided me with an insight into the values and beauty of the Indian way of life, and the hidden complexities of transposing family values into another world.