Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny | 
bailedI listened to 2.5 hours of this 25.5 hour audiobook and it just wasn‘t doing anything for me. I hung onto it for a few days, but I have no interest in going back to try to keep going. Thanks to @Suet624 for helping me know bailing was the right choice for me! #TOBlonglist
pickSent from India to find new lives in the US, Sunny and Sonia‘s paths nearly collide but not quite. Instead Sunny loses his sense of self, Sonia spirals into loneliness. We watch this unravelling and at times this was excellent reading - charming, funny, tender. However the meandering story slowly began to lose me. The ending was satisfying and tear inducing, yet how we got there was not so much, for me. And at 670 pages, this felt LONG!
pick⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This was beautiful. I finished a few weeks ago and remembered thinking maybe it didn‘t need to be quite so long, but thinking back on it I don‘t mind the length at all. Story of Sonia and Sonny, Indian young adults trying to make their way in the US and navigate family dynamics in India. It‘s a slow burn but worth the time.
pickI loved this
A book about loneliness, as the title suggests, but also of its consequences
The young girl who finds herself in a toxic relationship with a much older male artist that thinks everything is allowed in the name of art
The man that finds his best friend pushing him out of his life to find a wife
Two families that faces their own challenges, an aunt that left her husband, a mother that leaves her husband
About family
pickIn my review I said I liked everything about this except reading it. Terrific relatable characters, ideas, purposes with wonderful settings in different parts of India and elsewhere, and a striking story arc. Sonia and Sunny are Indians raised to be American and end up not fitting anywhere. The novel is long and wants to be read at a regular pace. The prose is maybe too safe. Not sure. A lot went into this. My last from #Booker2025
‘Filled only by what pleases.‘ I like that idea. This statement is from a woman who has left her husband because she no longer has feelings for him and despite all societal norms is living in the mountains in a small cabin.
#WeeklyForecast is "Too many books, too little time"
Tagged needs to go back to the library soon so have started it, I am 30 pages in and unsure.
Private Revolutions is a Women's Prize long list and I am still in Nonfiction November so going to get through that. Time and Again doubles and both a #10BeforeTheEnd and #BookedInTime read.
We will see how the US holiday week goes!
This is definitely not the reaction you want when you‘re treating someone
What every reader wants to do in public transportation
One view on Dickens
It really says something about your life when Dickens is better
so-soI‘m on the fence about this one. The writing is beautiful and some sections were vividly rendered. However, I did get lost in some of the magical realism especially towards the end. Big ideas about identity, fate, family, and art are explored, spanning decades and the globe. I did love the glimpses we had of Sunny and Sonja together but would have appreciated more, especially since we‘ve got the page count.
so-soI‘ve waited a few days before writing this review. This is definitely an apparently unpopular opinion. I‘m irrationally angry at myself for refusing to DNF this. I don‘t mind long books. I definitely like good writing. But when I think back on what I just finished reading I‘m curious why it needed to be so long and why I ended up not caring one way or the other what happened with the majority of the characters.
Reading a chunkster at the indoor soccer facility. We spend way too much of our lives here in the winter months. Loads of reading can happen though! ⚽️ 📖
I had no idea that Dumbo in NYC was an abbreviation of this
I just love the name Dumbo since I love the Disney movie with the same name
“Oh, I can miss someone after a day. Let‘s meet somewhere -“
“Where?”
“Anywhere - let me think. Portofino!” He was delighted by his proposal. “Where the film stars go. Everyone must go to Italy - (…)”
(This dialogue reminds me of Taylor Swift‘s song Elizabeth Taylor. Picture of Portofino found online)
Finally finished this chunkster! I usually get a bit itchy at any book over 300 pages, but the #Booker2025 shortlist made me pick it up (thank you, my library system).
Some great moments, but mostly I felt disconnected from the young titular characters. Think for me a book centring Pooja or Mama's story/ies would be more interesting. Acknowledging a criticism (trope of predatory older artist) within the narrative doesn't "fix" the issue, either!
When he told Sunny the ingredients in what he'd brought....he always added at the end: y amor!
"Huauzontles y amor! Frijoles, epazote y amor! Tomatillo, serrano y amor!"
Ulla would say, "The love is in the sauce," which had always irritated Sunny. He wanted only sauce in his sauce. Or, if anything, a touch of irony in his sauce, or the devil in his sauce, or sauciness in his sauce.
"Please leave amor out! I'm allergic to it," begged Sunny.
pickI was so happy to have spent some time in the world of this book; I was a little sad to come to the end. I‘ll be thinking about these characters for awhile, and this book will definitely be on my list of favorites this year. Such an expertly woven story from start to finish. 🩵
This section reminds me of a neighbour from the subcontinent, who also thinks this kind of comment to near-strangers is perfectly fine...
#CultureShock
They played Iqbal Bano singing "Hum Dekhenge." The picture on the cassette cover showed the singer wearing a black sari to protest the dictatorship of Zia....
What happened within a family, what happened between a couple, was no different from that which happened in a nation under dictatorship, running on fear. Far above, planes blinked across the sky, and below, the madman in the ruins of the idgah came out and shouted....
pick25 Sep-2 Oct 25 (audiobook)
#Bookerlonglist2025 No 12
A sprawling tale of loneliness, love and longing. I do not remember anything about Inheritance of Loss, others than so enjoyed it and read it as part of the Booker longlist many years ago.
I enjoy sprawling family sagas, which seems to be a genre at which some modern writers from India excel, and this deserves it place in the shortlist.
At home Sunny said: "Ulla, why did you say I put curry in everything? I put spices in everything, not curry in everything. There's no such thing as curry, in fact. It's a fake word invented by the British."
He distinctly heard his mother's voice in his ear say, Who is this stupid person?
pickThis novel is a bit like a more serious, more introspective, and more sprawling When Harry Met Sally, but saying that doesn't remotely convey the scope of Desai's story, which includes commentary about and criticism of at least four countries, the art world, journalism, and the nature of familial and romantic ties. Her characters are silly, maddening, and so relatable, and I love that they engage in productive introspection without therapy.
I am feverishly trying to finish the tagged audiobook so I can give spooky books my full attention in October. In the meantime, I went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and learned that sand cats are just as adorable sleepers as domestic cats.
pickThe Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, by Kiran Desai (2025)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Premise: In and around the turn of the century, two young Indians navigate migrant life, family expectations, and the long pull of the past.
Review: This is an incredibly special book. In this rather intimate story about two families, Desai was somehow able to explain all of the hopes, dreams, and divisions of our present troubled century. ⬇️
I'm feeling a bit stressed today, and it seems like others might be, too, so I figured I'd post a sunset from a few days ago. There's so much beautiful, and it helps to remind myself.
I've been listening to the tagged today, and while I like the writing a lot, and the narration is excellent, I don't think it's helping my stress level.
Editing to add a hashtag so it's easy to find all the beautiful photos when we need a respite: #beautybreak
https://youtube.com/shorts/WF6QbSucLQA?feature=shared
Booker Shortlist reaction in under 3 minutes ^
Who is your winner?
I would guess I'm going to be team Audition, but the others have chance to win me over yet!
pickA very long, epic story, but one that kept me engrossed throughout. Sonia and Sunny have both left India for the US, and are both lonely in their different ways.
This detailed, immersive book follows their lives and those of their meddling families as they‘re all drawn together and apart over the years.
There was a small amount of magical realism, which I didn‘t like and a bit too much introspection on occasion, but overall a fabulous read.
pickI took my time reading this (almost 2 months!) and I‘m so glad I did. The story is packed-full of characters that might make you feel overwhelmed at times, but to me it just added to the richness of the story.
Loved the way Desai delivered Sonia and Sunny‘s stories through the pages. And loved the sprinkles of comic relief to break up the tension in some parts.
One of my Top 5 reads this year!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#arc Pub Date: 9/23/25
