America for Beginners

Recently widowed Pival Sengupta is 60 and has never left Kolkata. Her late husband Ram had told her that their son Rahi died in Los Angeles but Pavil never really accepted the news and now she is planning her first trip ever to find out the truth for herself. Rosni (Ronnie) Munshi owns a travel agency in New York that books tours for Indian and Pakistani tourists. He is from Bangladesh, a fact that he tries to hide from his clients. Pavil pays for a two week tour of America and requests both a personal guide and, since she cannot travel alone with a man, a female companion. Ronnie assigns the inexperienced Satya Roy to be Pavil's guide and manages to find an American actress, Rebecca Elliot, to act as companion. The book covers their show more tour through Manhattan, Niagara Falls, the Corning Museum of Glass, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and finally Los Angeles. There are also chapters describing Rahi's life as a student in America. It is not the life his parents had anticipated.

Rebecca is an employee but doesn't view herself as Pavil's servant and freely expresses her opinions and asks questions in a way that is foreign to Pavil and Satya. "Satya, however, seemed to view women as an alien species. Would he last two weeks traveling with two such creatures? He would have to." Pavil had been dominated by Ram and intimidated by their judgmental servants who were not on her side. Now on tour "She felt a surge of love and gratitude for Ram. After all, he had had the kindness to die." Over the course of the two weeks, Pavil, Satya and Rebecca face their own insecurities, misconceptions and prejudices. They share lots of bad Indian food and a few good tacos as they slowly get to know each other and Pavil learns to assert herself in ways she could not have imagined.

I found all of the characters completely believable and charming. I would love to know what happens to Pavil, Satya, Rebecca and Ronnie after the book ends. The book was insightful, amusing, touching and really delightful. It was impressive from a new author and I would be happy to read more by her.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. show less

Travel broadens the mind and the heart. When you venture out from your own home, whether within your own country or further afield, you not only encounter people who are different from you, but you also see the similarities, the universalities with people who might once have seemed profoundly unlike you. These realizations can change people unimaginably, alter their beliefs and help them see themselves as citizens of a kinder, wider world. In Leah Franqui's novel America for Beginners, her main characters all open their hearts and minds in ways they could never have envisioned when their cross country tour started.

Pival is newly widowed and wealthy. She spent many years of her marriage obeying her husband, making his life comfortable, show more keeping up appearances, and never (overtly) questioning his edicts about their life. She has felt trapped for too long. Now that Ram is gone, she decides that she is going to leave India and go on a tour of the United States. She's going to find out if it is true that her beloved only son Rahi is dead. Ram had declared him dead when Rahi came out as gay to his parents, disowning the young man completely and requiring Pival to disown him as well, but she knew he wasn't dead, at least not then. Then came a long distance phone call to Ram that confirmed Rahi's death. But she's never been sure if the phone call was true or not and she's determined to find out. She plans to travel the US, seeing sights and slowly making her way to California to the address where Rahi and his partner lived, to find out the truth about his life, love, and his untimely death, and finally to die herself. She does not share her purpose and intentions with tour company owner Ronnie, new guide Satya, or Rebecca, the American unemployed actress hired as a companion to accompany Pival for propriety's sake.

Pival is a wonderful character, having endured an unhappy marriage, now having the chance to come into her own and take charge of her own life. She is burdened by regret and grief, not for her late husband but for her beloved son, her reason for living. While her journey, physically and emotionally, takes center stage here, there are other journeys of the heart and head paralleling Pival's and highlighting the differences and hurts that arise amongst families and friends. Jake, Rahi's partner, is not on the cross country odyssey with Pival but he is also on an emotional journey, grieving his partner and blaming and loathing the parents who could hurt Rahi (also known as Bhim) so badly simply for being himself. The narration focuses on four characters, Pival, Jake, Satya, and Rebecca, giving each of them an extensive backstory, setting them up for their own emotional journeys. The book brims with emotion, sadness and comedy both. The stops on the tour are just tiny pieces of the puzzle that is the US, just as each of the characters is one part of a larger whole of humanity but they, country and characters, are parts that it was wonderful to spend time exploring. The book itself is not so much about the road trip and the sights the characters see as it is about self-discovery and cracking open your own heart, seeing past prejudice and recognizing our commonality. This is a big-hearted, funny, and affecting book about love and grief and regret and hope. It was also a selection for the 2018 Great Group Reads list put out by the Women's National Book Association for National Reading Group Month so it would be perfect for reading and discussing in a book club. show less

This is a story of a journey of self-discovery for three people thrown together on a trip across the country. In a way they are all newcomers to America. Pival Sengupta, newly widowed at age 60, is from Kolkata, India. Her young American guide, Satya Roy, was originally from Bangladesh but he is pretending to be from India. Rebecca Eliot, hired as a companion for Pival, is from America but has barely traveled at anywhere. All three of them are looking for a positive change in their lives, which so far, have been filled with missteps and disappointments.

This sounds predictable, right? One presumes they open up to each other on the road and help each other solve their problems. But surprisingly, this isn’t what happens at all. Their show more inner journeys remain opaque to one another, even as each of them inadvertently and occasionally teaches a lesson or two to the others. Likewise, the resolution of the story is much different than the boilerplate road story.

Evaluation: I enjoyed having my expectations upended. I also appreciated the way cultural expectations and prejudices played so large a part in the story and yet to a large extent no one ever confronted anyone else about it. It was an unexpected and entertaining book. show less

This is a charming first novel about a widow from Calcutta who travels to America to connect with her estranged son. She books a tour with an Indian company and travels from New York to Los Angeles (with a stop at the Corning Glass museum of all places) with a Bangla guide and an Anglo out of work actress from New York. It's part picaresque, part travelogue and just skirts Magical Negro territory but luckily, never falls into that pit for too long.

I received this from the LT Early reviewers program. Thanks LT!!

Pival Sengupta, a recently widowed Kolcatta native, books a trip to America for her first solo venture outside her home city. But she’s not really interested in seeing all the sights across America so much as she wants to find some connection to her estranged son, Rahi, who had been living in California. Did he visit any of these places? What would he have thought? She’s accompanied by a tour guide, Satya, and a paid companion, Rebecca.

This went in directions I wasn’t expecting. I had read little about the book in advance, and thought it would a lighthearted, somewhat humorous look at America through the eyes of a total newcomer. But there were many deeper issues here.

Pival must deal with her grief – over both her husband and show more her son. She is also consumed by anger, confusion and regret over a life she’s never had, having given up any control to others before now. She’s puzzled by the freedom Rebecca shows – how comfortable and assertive she is, how she dresses, her consumption of alcohol – and also a little envious.

Rebecca is struggling with her own life choices. She has a contentious relationship with her mother, is not having success as an actress in New York, but cannot seem to seek a career away from that city. This “break” gives her time to think over her life and her choices.

Satya is in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa. He hasn’t left the small circle of immigrants he’s found in New York before now, and has been furiously studying, trying to always have an answer, even if he must make it up. He’s puzzled by a tourist (Pavil) who doesn’t want to shop at ever stop, and feels stressed by any possible change in plans. And he has regrets and guilt over how he’s treated his best friend.

And Rahi … in flashbacks the reader gets to know him and his lover Jake. And learn something of the conflicts he had to face in acknowledging his sexuality and being estranged from his family as a result.

There WERE humorous scenes, and I enjoyed seeing some of these sights through the eyes of Pavil and Satya. But there were several scenes that were emotionally charged, especially once the trio makes it to Los Angeles. At times I was in tears. I don’t want to give anything away, but the ending is hopeful. All the characters have to find ways to deal with the past and to move forward with courage.

This is Franqui’s debut novel. I look forward to reading more from her in the future. show less

This book went a little way towards restoring my faith in humanity. This cross-country journey shared amongst three very different individuals was both humorous and poignant, as their American experiences affected them in different ways. My favorite passages were the conversations between Pival, the Bengali widow, and Rebecca, her young and brash American companion. Their perspectives on womanhood and autonomy were fascinating and I would have enjoyed more. In a world of tunnel vision and echo chambers, this novel is a refreshing foray into the “other” and lessons in empathy.

This beautiful debut novel was very emotional for me. After reading the reviews, it looks like it's either a 'love it or hate it' book with very little middle ground. For me it was a book that I loved with characters I won't soon forget.

The novel is about three people who are trying to find their place in the world. They are different ages, have different backgrounds and ethnicity but their search for their futures shows that they are much more alike than even they think they are.

The three main characters are well written and very believable. I enjoyed the way their views of each other changed during their tour of America. There is also some humor in the story - especially when Satya makes up stories about places in American that he's show more never seen and knows nothing about.

This is a beautiful novel about love and families and forgiveness and acceptance along with a travel guide across America.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own. show less