Anne Cherian
The Invitation
(Norton, May 2012)
Foreign rights have been sold to: Newton Compton (Italy) and Hachette India.
When Vikram invites three of his old college friends to his son’s graduation from MIT, they accept out of obligation and curiosity, viewing the party as a twenty-fifth reunion of sorts. Village genius Vikram, now the founder of a lucrative company, is having the party against his sons’s wishes. Frances and Jay regret accepting the invitation: Frances, a real estate agent, hasn’t sold a house in a year; Jay’s middle management job isn’t worth brag worthy; and their daughter is failing the eleventh grade. Lali plans to hide the fact that her once-happy marriage is crumbling because her American husband is discovering his Jewish roots. Each had left UCLA expecting to be successful and have even more successful children. At Vikram’s Newport Beach mansion, the showmanship they anticipate dissolves as each is forced to deal with his or her own problems. The follow-up to A Good Indian Wife, Anne Cherian’s novel resonates with the poignancy of real life colliding with expectations unmet.