THE SLEEPWALKER'S GUIDE TO DANCING

This book was lying unread on my shelf for about a year.I just finished reading it yesterday.

This story follows the life of the Eapens,an Indian-American family consisting of Thomas Eapen,a neurosurgeon,Kamala,his wife,their intellectually gifted son,Akhil and their photographer daughter,Amina.It follows their lives,in Albuquerque as they deal with feelings of dislocation,adjustments,personal tragedy and loss.Amina and Akhil are first generation Americans,their parents being raised in India and despite the objections raised by Thomas's mother, their family has chosen to live in a foreign land as opposed to their hometown in Salem,India.The novel is set in three locations,Albuquerque,Seattle and Salem and alternates back and forth between the early 80's and 1998.Amina,who lives in Seattle ,gets a call from her mother,Kamala,saying that something is seriously wrong with her father,who keeps talking to family members who are no longer alive.Putting aside her wedding photography assignments,Amina flies home to investigate and soon realizes that the only way she can help her family is by confronting their painful past and coming to terms with it.

My Views:I took a really long time to finish reading this book only because I could not read it in a single sitting.It was interesting to begin with but the narrative faltered a bit in the middle and my interest level dipped.However it did pick pace towards the end and I found myself curious to know what happens.The characters are very well-etched out.The Indian diaspora aptly portrayed.I could understand what making a home away from home means.The feelings of guilt at hurting close family only because of the choices one makes are very hard to bear and sometimes take its toll.The dialogues are funny in parts and it does make one laugh.Sometimes you feel as if you know this family personally with all their frustrations,sorrows,sadness and anger.Their support system in a foreign land in the form of friends and how they rally around in times of need was totally relatable.Above everything else ,this book stresses the importance of family,of those unbreakable bonds.

However ,at some point I felt that too much was incorporated in a single story,too many things occuring in their lives.I did not read it with the same intense interest I started the book with and that was a major drawback for me.The story was too slow in parts and that didnt work for me.However as a debut novel it surely is a good book.

I rate it a 3 out of 5.