All This Could Be Different

by Sarah Thankam Mathews

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Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR *Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Harper's Bazaar, and more* �??One of the buzziest, most human novels of the year�?�breathless, dizzying, and completely beautiful.�?� �??Vogue �??Dazzling and wholly original...[written] with such mordant wit, insight, and specificity, it feels like watching a new literary star being born in real time.�?� �??Entertainment Weekly From a brilliant new voice comes an electrifying novel of a young immigrant building a life for herself�??a warm, dazzling, and profound saga of queer love, friendship, work, and precarity in twenty-first century America Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She�??s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, grueling as it may be, is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the tab at dinner with her new friend Tig, get her college buddy Thom hired alongside her, and send money to her parents back in India. She begins dating women�??soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach. But before long, trouble arrives. Painful secrets rear their heads; jobs go off the rails; evictions loom. Sneha struggles to be truly close and open with anybody, even as her friendships deepen, even as she throws herself headlong into a dizzying romance with Marina. It�??s then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all. A beautiful and capacious novel rendered in singular, unforgettable prose, All This Could Be Different is a wise, tender, and riveting group portrait of young people forging love and community amidst struggle, and a moving story of one immigrant�??s jo… (more)

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Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)

Oh, I don't know how to write this review.
I guess just: there's a lot good about it, and I have some weird ambivalences about it. Mostly my own periodic fatigue with first novel / bildungsroman / graduate in their first job and figuring out life narratives; and the disconcerting feeling of being pulled out of a story to recognize my own environment, realizing I know that place, that client, and maybe even one of these people, a passing reference to something so pivotal in my own life. (

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Kiramke | Jan 19, 2024 |

Three quarters misery, with a reversal of fortune in the end, and the gap between is too painful to make for an enjoyable read. After graduation, Sneha moves to Milwaukee for a seemingly well-paying and secure consulting job and is even able to bring in her dudebro Thom (who, hilariously, treats Sneha just like she's him), and she falls in love with a complicated woman. When everything goes sour, her devoted friends try and pull her through, but Sneha folds and allows her miserable landlord and cheating boss to shatter her life. Oh, and yeah, she's remains closeted to her unknowing family back in India. The plunge to the bottom includes some rough and exploitative sexual encounters, and her strongest advocate is a woman she isn't attracted to but who becomes her lifesaver to sanity. In the altogether, Sneha's fall is too long-lasting and her rise is given short shrift. (

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froxgirl | Jan 16, 2024 |

For many good reasons, Sneha, struggled to find her way as a new college graduate in 2008. Matthews portrayed these challenges with humor and empathy. The characters were sympathetic although some did seem too good to be true. I liked how friendship was more important than romance. All of the characters grew over the course of the novel in ways I found believable. (

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ccayne | Oct 4, 2023 |

A twenty three year old lesbian immigrant woman struggles to succeed both financially and romantically in Milwaukee Wisconsin. She has friendships with many varied people including an employer who doesn't always pay her.. She finally finds Marianna who seems to be the woman of her dreams but things are always a struggle. She has a checkered family past and was abused by an uncle. All this leads to periods of aimlessness and lack of confidence. Mathews is a wonderful young writer and this is a marvelous first novel. (

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muddyboy | May 31, 2023 |

Heart-wrenching and empathetic. As she discovers them, you get a real feeling for S's character and values. A deep and unflinching look at love and learning to love while growing up and finding your feet in a nearly unforgiving world. (

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ethanfenichel | Apr 8, 2023 |

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Awards

Aspen Words Literary Prize (Longlist – 2023)

Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award (Finalist – Fiction – 2022)

BookTube Prize (Octofinalist – Fiction – 2023)

National Book Award (Longlist – Fiction – 2022)

Distinctions

Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Debut Fiction – 2022)

NPR: Books We Love (2022)

Notable Lists

BuzzFeed Best Books (Fiction – 2022)

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection – 2022)

Time Magazine's Best Books of the Year (Fiction – 2022)

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All This Could Be Different

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▾Book descriptions

Fiction. Literature. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:2022 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST
ONE OF THE LOS ANGELES TIMES' TOP 5 FICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR
ONE OF TIME AND SLATE'S TOP 10 BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2022 by NPR, Vogue, Vulture, BuzzFeed, Harper's Bazaar, and more
�??One of the buzziest, most human novels of the year�?�breathless, dizzying, and completely beautiful.�?� �??Vogue

�??Dazzling and wholly original...[written] with such mordant wit, insight, and specificity, it feels like watching a new literary star being born in real time.�?� �??Entertainment Weekly
From a brilliant new voice comes an electrifying novel of a young immigrant building a life for herself�??a warm, dazzling, and profound saga of queer love, friendship, work, and precarity in twenty-first century America
Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She�??s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, grueling as it may be, is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the tab at dinner with her new friend Tig, get her college buddy Thom hired alongside her, and send money to her parents back in India. She begins dating women�??soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach.
But before long, trouble arrives. Painful secrets rear their heads; jobs go off the rails; evictions loom. Sneha struggles to be truly close and open with anybody, even as her friendships deepen, even as she throws herself headlong into a dizzying romance with Marina. It�??s then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all.
A beautiful and capacious novel rendered in singular, unforgettable prose, All This Could Be Different is a wise, tender, and riveting group portrait of young people forging love and community amidst struggle, and a moving story of one immigrant�??s jo

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