The Limits of the World, Jennifer Acker
The Limits of the World, Jennifer Acker
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

The Limits of the World
A Novel

Author: Jennifer Acker

Narrator: Priya Ayyar, Ron Butler

Unabridged: 9 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/16/2019

Categories: Fiction

Synopsis

The Chandaria family—emigrants from the Indian-enclave of Nairobi—have managed to flourish in America. Premchand, the father, is a doctor who has worked doggedly to grow his practice and give his family security; his wife, Urmila, runs a business importing artisanal Kenyan crafts; and their son, Sunil, after quitting the pre-med track, has gotten accepted to a PhD program in philosophy at Harvard. But the parents have kept a very important secret from Sunil: his cousin, Bimal, is actually his older brother. And when this previously hidden history is revealed by an unforeseen accident, and the entire family is forced to return to Nairobi, Sunil reveals his own well-kept, explosive secret: his Jewish-American girlfriend, who has accompanied him to Kenya, is, in fact, already his wife.Spanning four generations and three continents, The Limits of the World illuminates the vast mosaic of cultural divisions and ethical considerations that shape the ways in which we judge one another’s actions. A dazzling debut novel—written with rare empathy and insight—it is a powerful depiction of how we prevent ourselves, unwittingly and otherwise, from understanding the people we are closest to.

About Jennifer Acker

Jennifer Acker is founder and editor-in-chief of the Common. Her short stories, essays, translations, and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, Guernica, the Yale Review, and Ploughshares, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and organizes LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband. The Limits of the World is her debut novel.

About Priya Ayyar

Priya Ayyar is an audiobook narrator, actor, and writer with a BFA and MFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her acting credits for television and film include Law & Order: Criminal Intent, All My Children, and the documentary The Children of War. She has appeared on stage in War of the Unheard, Aminta, and The Road Home, and she has written and performed in the plays Karmic Fusion and Losing Remote Control.

About Ron Butler

Ron Butler is a Los Angeles–based actor, Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator, and voice artist with over a hundred film and television credits. Most kids will recognize him from the three seasons he spent on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP. He works regularly as a commercial and animation voice-over artist and has voiced a wide variety of audiobooks. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company and an Independent Filmmaker Project Award winner for his work in the HBO film Everyday People.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bandit on March 01, 2019

This is kind of a difficult book to review for me. It’s a terrifically written and very ambitious fictional debut, unquestionably. That the entire experience has been sort of frustrating for me because I so strongly disliked one of the main characters just seems…like a sort of pedestrian aside. And......more

Goodreads review by Cheryl on April 14, 2019

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I liked it but on the other hand, I was left wanting more. What I mean by this is that while I liked the location and the concept for the story; I was left wanting for that strong, human, emotional connection towards the characters. I briefly felt t......more

Goodreads review by Jypsy on March 11, 2019

The Limits Of The World unfortunately fell short of what I expected. It's an intriguing premise, and the story is informative in some aspects. In other ways, however, the story is dull and lacking a spark. It's good but not great. I wouldn't read it again. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange......more

Goodreads review by Jen on May 01, 2019

I loved THE LIMITS OF THE WORLD for its intriguing characters and graceful writing, but what I'll remember most is the unusual risks this book takes--and how the author pulls them off. For one, there's the ambitious dive into a community and its history (the Indian community in Nairobi) that I've ne......more

Goodreads review by Renita on July 28, 2021

Poignant......more

Quotes

“Acker unwinds a complex intergenerational story of immigration, culture, family, partnership, and ethics in her skillful debut…Fans of Jhumpa Lahiri or Yaa Gyasi will want to check out Acker’s elegant saga.” Publishers Weekly

“Acker presents a complex and compelling tale that offers the possibility of resolutions while boldly acknowledging the restless imperfections of relationships.” Booklist

“A rare but honest look at the way parents, children, and spouses talk to one another but don’t always hear what’s being said. A thoughtful, deeply researched debut.” Kirkus Reviews

“This unabashedly intelligent and beautiful book of generational conflict, culture clashes, and immigrant assimilation reminds us the limits of this world depend entirely on the sizes our hearts, our capacity to love ourselves and each other.” Scott Cheshire, author of High as the Horses’ Bridle

“Narrators Priya Ayyar and Ron Butler work together to chart the ups and downs of the Chandaria family…Ayyar sounds young, hopeful, and determined as Sunil, the rebellious son who doesn’t want to be a doctor or marry an Indian woman. She describes his contrary life at an upbeat, energetic tempo that captures Sunil’s attempts to integrate into American culture. Butler creates a memorable character in Bimal, the cousin who lives in Kenya. He delivers Bimal’s unique accented English with a gentle cadence. Ayyar and Butler trade off chapters, showcasing their talents and keeping listeners entertained throughout.” AudioFile

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List