The Complex

In Mahajan’s immersive third novel (after The Association of Small Bombs), a family tragedy unfolds against the backdrop of political upheaval in India. As the story opens in 1980, Sanchin Chopra, grandson of a late revered Indian politician, is trying to forge a new life in Michigan with his wife, Gita, even as she longs to return to Delhi. During a visit there, Sanchin’s lecherous uncle, Laxman, sexually assaults Gita, and the other family members, including Sanchin, brush her off when she tries to tell them about it. Meanwhile, Laxman, a failed businessman, attempts to launch a new company with Karishma, the wife of Sanchin’s brother Brij, and embarks on an affair with her. Brij, a broken man following his service in the Indian Air Force, physically abuses Karishma and their two sons. After Sanchin and Gita move back to Delhi, Brij comes to deeply resent his brother’s presence, and eventually, Gita pushes Sanchin to grasp the depth of Laxman’s depravity. In the mid-1980s, members of the far-right Bhartiya Janata Party court Laxman, hoping to win over establishment voters by exploiting his family name, and the family tensions build to a tragic denouement. Even those unfamiliar with Indian political history will be swept up by the well-drawn characters and gripping drama. The author proves himself a consummate storyteller. Agent: Jin Auh, Wylie Agency. (Mar.)