The city library has an email newletter for which you can select categories of interest. This book was featured in the ‘travel’ category.

Subtitled “Life and Love in India,” it is written by an American journalist who lived in India for several years in her 20s. The book is not a a funny-style travel memoir but it is  well written and informative.  I found it very interesting, particularly since my young coworker has given me insights into life as a Canadian Indian woman. (See my blog about her wedding.)

After finishing the book, I went looking for reviews. I found one quite negative one and another positive one. The website of the positive reviewer has a lot of interesting South Asian content, but seems to be a good general book-review site. Curiously she wrote a rhapsodic review of The Secret Daughter, whose characters I found stereotypical and annoying.

That is why I prefer to read reviews after the book, and also why I avoid much analysis when I make my own recommendations.