If You See Me, Don't Say Hi: Stories

A nicely turned collection focusing sharply on the Indian-American experience, especially on characters on the verge of mainstream success. My favorite story is probably "Taj Mahal," a frenemy tear jerker--the main character, an outsider fiercely taking hold of inside privilege, represents a nondominant and slightly off-kilter point of view that broadens and deepens what might have been an unremarkable made-for-tv drama into a unique and devastating slice of American life. All the stories in If You See Me Don't Say Hi explore the "Taj Mahal" neighborhood--literally, in terms of its suburban setting, and literarily, in terms of themes and conflicts.

My Takeaway

Up until around a year ago, I was not a huge fan of short story collections -- they're growing on me though. And when you read a collection such as, If You See Me, Don't Say Hi you begin to truly appreciate short stories! Patel does such an excellent job of breaking down many of the biases and assumptions we tend to have about Indian Americans or Indians living in America. I viewed each of his stories as a teachable moment or a lesson in empathy. Patel's stories included racism, sexuality, and religion (all sensitive subjects), but he does it full of compassion and with humor. Although I enjoyed every single story (they're honestly all great), the last two stories, World Famous and Radha, Krishna are my favorites. I loved how show more the last two stories are connected. I could definitely read an entire novel based on the couple (hint, hint). I absolutely look forward to this amazing author's future work! show less

Usually I enjoy novels and stories about the immigrant experience and the issue of first generation Americans. For example, I loved [The Namesake], [[Jhumpha Lahiri]]'s novel about a young Indian-American whose identity straddled two worlds. Patel's short story collection covers some of the same territory, but I found them much less appealing. Even more than they deal with ethnicity and intergenerational conflict, the stories focus on class and sexuality. A teenager who lives with his parents above their hotel compares himself to his wealthier classmates. A student destined by good grades and parental pressure is ashamed of his brother who drinks too much, abuses his wife, and hopes only to manage the hotel. A boy visiting his Indian show more family in Kenya falls in love with a houseboy. A woman who accuses her husband of being infertile thinks he has a mistress, only to find that he is donating sperm to a lesbian couple. An Indian-American college student falls for an Asian-American girl who, after great sex, dumps him; she ends up with a white man that, years later, he has the chance to take revenge upon. So lots of confused, angry, jealous people trying to find their place in the world, most of them not very successfully. I had a hard time empathizing with most of them. show less

You can also find this review on my blog.

cw: homophobia; sex; infidelity; racism; drunk driving; sexual assault/csa
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own.

We lived through the lives of our future selves, passing our remaining days in a fugue.

My rating for each story:

god of destruction 4/5
hare rama, hare krishna 4/5
hey, loser 4/5
just a friend 4/5
if you see me, don’t say hi 3/5
the taj mahal 4/5
the other language 3/5
these things happen 4/5
an arrangement 3/5
world famous 4.5/5
radha, krishna 5/5

I should have felt guilty. I should have felt ashamed. I felt everything but.

My average rating was 3.86 stars, show more rounded up to 4. This was a beautiful collection of short stories. It only took me about two and a half hours to read through them all and I found myself thinking about them a lot in between sessions. In fact, several of the stories have stuck pretty hard with me since finishing the book.

There are a lot of characters with grey morality; you can understand their actions, but at the same time you know that they’re not necessarily doing the right thing. I found this to be really effective, as I was constantly torn with how I felt about them. There were only a couple characters who I outright disliked and even then, I still felt sympathetic towards them.

I definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy of this if you can. show less

This is a valid description of the plight faced by the Indian ( as well as all) immigrants in the US while trying to fit in with the mainstream kids And being embarrassed by the close knit Indian community.
However I hope the sleeping around of young Indian girls is not that common as the author have us believe. In all 11 stories the protagonist is either a doctor or a motel owner and that can make the voice same in all the stories and to a point it has but the issues, the dilemmas faced by each are so engrossing and fun to read that that problem becomes minor.
1. The secret the wife shares with the reader is enthralling like a Bollywood movie.
2. True to life. The wife forgives her husband’s Infidelities again and again due to show more convenienc
3. A successful doctor finds life has passed him by in the commitment compartment
4. The relaying of the relationship is meticulously mapped out. how trust and honesty become the strongholds the protagonist adheres to and how those get shattered.
5. Interesting relationship of two brothers from youth to middle age. Did not understand the intimate embrace between his sister in law and himself.
6. I find this story quite far fetched. Male doctors being perverse, and looking for opportunities to get sexual favors is commonly known but female doctors? No I don’t agree. They can have flaws and insecurities but downright trying to get laid by any male? They have too much at stake to go that way. Women are thankfully not wired that way. However I liked how a man lower on the success ladder than her had more integrity.
7. This is the one story I was most affected by. I have experienced such a scenario quite a few times and it is a torture to live with the aftermath of the mess I created.
8. In my eyes the protagonist becomes the hero when he blames himself for the sexual encounters he does not initiate but then plays along with it. Very subtle message
9. The end was unclear to me
10. And 11. Are like part 1 and part 2 of the story. Both their points of view are given. Great story and beautifully done.
Eagerly waiting for his novel show less

LOVE AND LOSS, follow the characters in these eleven beautifully written stories. They follow various scenarios in the lives of characters of Indian descent, maintains their own customer, while navigating new lives in the states. The title story is so usual the one that stands out and concerns two brothers who once close fall out over a careless comment one of them makes. Their estrangement will last ten years.

The last two stories are connecting stories, about a man and woman , once involved, and picks up at two different points in their lives. To be honest though, I enjoyed reading them all, which doesn't happen very often when reading g shorts. The Indian customs, culture, foods are explored iin different stories. An Indisn online show more dating service is featured in the first..

The first offering by this author, and he is a very smooth writer, a natural storyteller. The stories flow, the prose gorgeous, with some wonderful insights. Looking forward to more from this author, and apparently he is now at work on his first novel. show less

So Indians have sex too. Who knew.