The Inheritance Of Loss: Kiran Desai

[poliphilo]

We're in Nepal, in a valley under Kanchenjunga; it's the 1980s, corruption is endemic, the young are agitating for a Gorkha homeland and- in their decaying bungalows above the town- a group of wealthy retirees- Indian and European- are keeping alive the tastes and traditions of the British Raj.  Anyone who can blag a visa escapes to Britain or the USA and sends home lies about how well they're doing there. Sai, the grandaughter of the judge, begins a puppyish romance with a half-hearted young revolutionary...

A funny, grim and largely unforgiving book.