Item: A Great Country
Rating: 4
Author: Catherine

A Great Country by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Published by Mariner Books
Publication date: March 26, 2024
Genres: Book Clubs, Fiction, Contemporary, Cultural

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In every way but culture the Shahs consider themselves to be an embodiment of the American Dream. They’ve lived in California for over 20 years, their three children were all born here, and Ashok has gone from freelance work to owning his own company. In the latest example of their achievement, they’ve just purchased a beautiful new home in an Orange County gated community. It’s all sunshine in A Great Country, until they receive a phone call—in the midst of a swanky cocktail party no less—that their 12-year-old son has been arrested. From this shocking beginning author Shilpi Somaya Gowda carefully dismantles the Shah’s ‘Dream’ brick by brick, from within their family and from the outside world.

Ajay’s arrest creates an immediate waterfall effect for the family. Deepa, the oldest daughter and only one with a driver’s license, was supposed to pick Ajay up from school where he was working with the rest of the robotics club on their latest project. She was also supposed to pick up her sister, Mira, who had spent the afternoon at the home of a wealthy new friend. Now, Ajay’s in jail, Maya’s had to impose on her hosts to take her home, and parents Ashok and Priya are having to turn to new business and social acquaintances to find out what to do to get their son back.

Deepa’s carelessness and Maya’s withdrawal are just two symptoms of a family denying its dysfunction in A Great Country. Ashok, in particular, is so caught up with fitting in and being seen as successful that he’s lost sight of what’s happening with his wife and children. In his mind, Ajay’s arrest is a simple mistake and once they talk to the police it will all be cleared up. But when Ajay’s demeanor and response to the police fit the worst biases of the detective who arrested him, things go from bad to worse. The Shahs begin splintering into their own camps as Ashok refuses to relinquish his idealistic views of America, Priya becomes vocal in her fight to help Ajay, and Deepa and Maya occupy the opposite sides of teenagers everywhere—one desperate to fit in, the other determined to burn it all down.

A Great Country is one of those novels that keeps revealing more layers as the pages pass. In initial scenes amongst well-to-do Indians, Gowda exposes how endemic prejudice can be, even amongst people of color. Stereotypical attitudes and white entitlement also come into play. This is the kind of multi-layered drama, touching on both the intimacies of family dynamics and the larger issues in modern day America. Virtually every character in the novel comes under scrutiny for their judgments, preconceptions, and the prejudices they hold, even subconsciously. It makes for reading that continues to surprise and provoke thought right up until the last page. Unfortunately, I’m too jaded by what’s happening in this country to buy into the novel’s ending. There are not one, but two resolutions that felt far too neat. I appreciate Gowda opting for the positive in A Great Country, I just couldn’t buy into it. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel of family and America.

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