The Journey

After a decade in a suburban American world of shopping malls and fast-food restaurants, sisters Renu and Manx return to their childhood home, the island of Pi. A bit of India "torn free to float in the Bay of Bengal," its alien and yet strangely familiar landscape is defined by gardens and hillsides ablaze with surreal foliage, and ceiling fans that circle endlessly in the background. The sisters and their mother have returned because cousin Rajesh, always affectionately known as Renu's twin, has died. His death and their return mark the beginning of a curious journey, leading by unexpected routes toward revelation.A human comedy set against the Hindu cosmology, The Journey manages to be earthy and naïve, droll and sweetly sad, all at the same time. --Mark Dery, The New York Times

"Beautifully written. . . . Ganesan has given us a poignant yet vibrant account of a young girl's search for self within two very different cultures." -Kirkus Reviews

"A first novel that is something better than delicate, and something better than wise. Ganesan can write with a lovely balance not common to first novels." -Los Angeles Times

"Ms. Ganesan writes nimble prose that promises good things to come." -The New YorkerIndira Ganesan is author of Inheritance. She was a Granta finalist for Best Young American Novelist in 1996 for The Journey. She teaches at Southampton College on Long Island.