A Person Is a Prayer

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An intensely moving, lyrical, and often funny novel explores a family's migration from Kenya and India to England over three days and six decades. Bedi and Sushma's arranged marriage begins with a hesitant conversation about happiness and hope, leading them to seek these ideals together. Even as their children—Selena, Tara, and Rohan—grow up and start families of their own, Bedi and Sushma continue their quest. Years later, the siblings face life without their parents, embarking on a journey to the Ganges to unite their father's ashes with the water. This trip reveals their shared desire to understand happiness, their confusion about it, and their enduring hope. The narrative delves into the depths of family dynamics and the silence that emerges when communication breaks down. It reflects on the brevity of life and how our choices resonate through generations. Praised as a deeply felt debut, the novel is described as smart, funny, and soulful. It offers a nuanced and honest portrayal of family influence, blending heartbreak with humor and poetry. The writing is incisive and evocative, exploring cultural complexity and human frailty with compassion and wit, while illuminating contemporary British life through overlapping perspectives.