Habitations

February 19, 2024
Sundar debuts with an earnest meditation on an Indian American graduate student’s grief, loneliness, and longing. Vega Gopalan unexpectedly gets pregnant while pursuing her PhD in reproductive rights. Her loveless marriage with Suresh lacks the passion she once felt for her college girlfriend Naomi, though she struggled with letting herself be emotionally vulnerable in that relationship as much as she does with Suresh. She traces the root of the problem to her grief over her younger sister Ashwini’s death in India, where Vega grew up and where their parents still live. Vega was 17 when Ashwini died of a heart condition that could’ve been easily treated had the family lived in America. Now, having spent several years in the U.S., Vega has mixed feelings about the country’s abundance of resources, given their asymmetrical accessibility, and she begins to reflect on her own privilege as a Brahmin in India. Sundar offers a fresh perspective on the pressures of motherhood and desire for self-fulfillment as Vega considers leaving Suresh and co-parenting with him. This leaves readers with much to chew on. Agent: Judythe Cohen, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc.

March 1, 2024
Sundar's debut novel is a wondrous mix of quiet heartache and unexpected hope, making it the best kind of literary fiction for capturing the ineffable nature of the human condition. The story of Vega Gopalan is an exploration of a girl, then a woman living through loss and grief while trying to find her place as an immigrant student, a suburban wife, an academic, and a single mother. The many secondary characters add nuance to Sundar's perspective on and dramatization of the Indian diaspora and the world of academia. Sundar's ability to invest her characters with emotional depth prevents them from being stereotypical; the humor and empathy infused in her writing bring out the challenges and joys of relationships ranging from casual to intimate. As the action moves between Chennai, New York City, New Jersey, and Baton Rouge, Sundar's focus on the evolution of Vega's inner and outer lives through relationships brings a vitally important lens to the thematic preoccupations of roots, home, migrant identity, and motherhood. The crisp plot and uncluttered writing make Habitations a remarkable first novel.

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March 1, 2024
In the aftermath of her only sibling's death, an Indian woman builds a life of purpose and connection. Vega Gopalan was just a teenager when her younger sister succumbed to an illness their family was assured she would overcome. Somehow Vega's life continues even as her sister's has ended. She finishes college and pursues graduate work first in her native South India, then in New York. What becomes clear as she moves through her studies and finds friends and lovers is that the grief she carries impacts her ability to form relationships and engage with the world around her. It's not as simple as grief imbuing her with a fear of abandonment. The loss acts as a film, a barrier between her and the people who wish to know her fully, even as she too longs for life's intimacies. Over the next decade, she achieves professional success, marries, has a child, divorces, all the while excavating a yearning for kinship that too often eludes her. The story unfolds episodically, in a good way; in Sundar's hands, the scenes tumble together hypnotically. The book captures a moment in time--before smartphones and social media as we know them today--among a particular set of people who cross international borders for higher education and enticing opportunities. The catch is that their lives can be as circumscribed by capricious visa policies and systemic prejudices as by any personal limitations. This yields a sense of transience; Sundar captures the cascades of smaller griefs as Vega and the people in her universe develop close ties when they overlap in cities and on campuses, then move on for coursework, jobs, fellowships, and family. Several stirring stretches of the novel eclipse the few plodding ones. As the book illustrates, there are always trade-offs. A debut novel that explores the contours of grief and globalization with conviction.

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