cover image The Invitation

The Invitation

Anne Cherian. Norton, $25.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-393-08160-2

Cherian’s latest (after A Good Indian Wife) is a character-driven page-turner revolving around four first-generation Indian immigrant friends—most of whom haven’t seen one another in the 25 years since college. They converge on a party being thrown by Vikram, a socially inept self-made man, to show off his success under the auspices of celebrating his son’s graduation from MIT. Cherian deftly conveys how their status-conscious heritage drives the main characters—Jay grew up wealthy, wed Frances, and expected success; now the couple struggle with lackluster jobs and an underperforming teenage daughter. Lali—ashamed of her son’s desire to take time off from Harvard—is drifting dangerously toward infidelity as she rekindles an old flame (who once betrayed her), while her American husband devotes himself to exploring his Jewish heritage. And the prosperous Vikram—in disagreement with the dreams of the son he’s feting at their Newport Beach, Calif., mansion—plans to use the pressure of the party to change his son’s ways. Cherian’s straightforward storytelling is riveting and rarely goes amiss (save for an instance of deus ex machina to resolve a pivotal scene), and the climax is fervent. Agent: Bonnie Nadell, Hill Nadell Agency. (May)