Late Bloomers, Deepa Varadarajan
Late Bloomers, Deepa Varadarajan
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Late Bloomers

Author: Deepa Varadarajan

Narrator: Vikas Adam, Deepa Samuel, Shahjehan Khan, Mehr Dudeja

Unabridged: 12 hr 14 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/02/2023


Synopsis

An Indian American family is turned upside down when the parents split up thirty-six years into their arranged marriage​ in this “heartwarming journey of self-discovery” (Southern Living).

“Touching . . . both funny and moving—a family drama the entire family can enjoy.”—Reader’s Digest

A REAL SIMPLE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • LILLY’S LIBRARY PICK

"I have a soft spot for underdogs. And late bloomers. You’ve told me a lot of things about yourself, so let me tell you something about me."

After thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating on a website that caters to Indians and is striking out at every turn—until he meets a mysterious, devastatingly attractive younger woman who seems to be smitten with him. Lata is enjoying her newfound independence, but she's caught off guard when a professor in his early sixties starts to flirt with her.  

Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata's daughter, Priya, thinks her father's online pursuits are distasteful even as she embarks upon a clandestine affair of her own. And their son, Nikesh, pretends at a seemingly perfect marriage with his law-firm colleague and their young son, but hides the truth of what his relationship really entails. Over the course of three weeks in August, the whole family will uncover one another's secrets, confront the limits of love and loyalty, and explore life's second chances. 

Charming, funny, and moving, Late Bloomers introduces a delightful new voice in fiction with the story of four individuals trying to understand how to be happy in their own lives—and as a family.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Thomas on November 04, 2023

Oh I loved this book about a messy Indian American family. Lata and Suresh Raman divorce after 36 years of marriage, with both wanting new starts in life. Suresh tries his hand at internet dating while Lata enjoys her new independence until she’s caught off guard by a professor in his early sixties......more

Goodreads review by BookOfCinz on May 28, 2023

I laughed out loud so many times reading this book! What an exceptionally charming, funny and heart-warming read! In Late Bloomers we meet the Raman family who is going through a lot of changes. The book is told from the perspective of all the family members, Suresh, Lata, Priya and Nikesh. After......more

Goodreads review by Shelley's Book Nook on April 05, 2023

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:Twitter - Amazon- Storygraph - The Book Review Crew 3.5 Stars This was a funny little book and different too, both in a good way. The characters are easy to identify with as they have the usual problems any family has. I loved how honest and real they all were......more

Goodreads review by Halley on April 03, 2023

Late Bloomers follows four family members as they explore relationships and adult struggles. Suresh and Lata had an arranged marriage and recently divorced after decades together. Suresh entirely blames Lata for leaving him, while Lata thinks Suresh was always a horrible husband. Both are working ou......more

Goodreads review by Lulu on May 02, 2023

3.5 This was cute, sad, and even hilarious at times. I feel it was a true depiction of a typical American family dealing with a later in life divorce which includes curious (aka jealous) ex spouses, first dates after 30+ years of marriage, online dating, and adult kids still playing the roles of the......more


Quotes

“[A] hilarious novel about coming-of-age (at any age).”—Chatelaine

“[A] heartwarming journey of self-discovery that finds each member of a family setting out on their own new paths.”—Southern Living

“[A] hilarious comedy of errors.”Good Housekeeping

“The unexpected humor makes for a touching tale . . . Late Bloomers is both funny and moving—a family drama the entire family can enjoy.”Reader’s Digest

“This funny, charming novel will reassure you that our wrong turns often help us find our way.”Real Simple

“[A] heartwarming debut novel.”PureWow

Bloomers, at times laugh-out-loud funny and at times quietly heartbreaking, is an intricate novel about people who rediscover themselves. Or perhaps, by being honest with themselves and with each other, discover themselves for the very first time.”Shelf Awareness

Late Bloomers follows the lives of a South Indian‒American family as they deal with love in all its permutations. Deepa Varadarajan deftly weaves modern-day problems like internet dating and complicated living arrangements with the eternal yearning for acceptance and the ageless desire to live up to family expectations.”—Katherine Heiny, author of Early Morning Riser and Games and Rituals

Late Bloomers is about love won and lost and rearranged and rediscovered . . . Varadarajan writes about the everyday life of the Raman family with so much humor and affection that she makes the ordinary feel extraordinary. I adore this family and I adore this book.”—Whitney Otto, author of How to Make an American Quilt

“Deepa Varadarajan’s debut novel is funny, heartbreaking, engrossing, surprising, and smart. Late Bloomers tells the story of the Raman family, beginning after the children have grown up. I never knew what would happen next and I absolutely loved that about this beautiful book.”—Marcy Dermansky, author of Hurricane Girl and Very Nice

“A stirring, tender novel about the bonds and binds between families and strangers. Varadarajan poignantly delivers a page-turner in which both the young and the not so young have to reconfigure expectations and forge new pathways in order to find fulfillment. Late Bloomers asks what it means to be a family—a happy family—in a rapidly changing world, and offers promising answers.”—Soniah Kamal, author of Unmarriageable

“Varadarajan has written her characters with intelligence and compassion, imbuing them with complexity . . . Warm, hopeful, often charming. The Ramans are an idiosyncratic oasis in the world of literary unhappy families.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Varadarajan debuts with an endearing exploration of an Indian American family’s search for new beginnings. . . . These strong voices leave an indelible mark.”—Publishers Weekly

“Readers looking for new fictional friends to cherish will be smitten with the Ramans from page one.”Booklist