^^^ I didn’t find the ending dark - just the getting there - the unhappiness.
I like Kamala. Domineering maybe … then again she raises Akhil and Amina - in many ways by herself - in a country she never wanted to call home. Thomas has his job and his Monica and comes and goes when he wants.
Kamala steps in and takes the blame for leaving Salem so that Thomas can walk out as he wants to do. She understands that, despite all the upheaval, leaving can only make things worse. She can’t talk Thomas out of it and yet she gets Ammachy’s slap.
Same thing when Thomas lays down his edict of “no driving” to Akhil. Until then Thomas has either made light of Akhil’s symtoms (growing boy) despite Kamala’s worry or not been at home to see them. He leaves Kamala to fight as best she can - reading to the “comatose” Akhil. When Kamala steps in enforce Thomas’ edict to Akhil, she gets hurt.
Later Kamala fights “the family” to see that Thomas gets to decide how he wants to die.
Anyway, I don’t think Kamala drives Amina away - I think Akhil’s death does that. Would have Akhil stayed in Albequerque in a different scenario? I don’t know but I think it more likely that unhappiness with his father would have factored in his decision. Thomas believes his son destined to greatness (and doesn’t catch Amina’s hurt with that pronouncement.) A father’s expectation for his son’s greatness can be hard to live up to.
Did Kamala purposefully take the blame for leaving Salem? I know she didn’t argue with Ammachy’s perception, but I don’t remember Kamala taking the blame by choice. I thought Ammachy blamed Kamala so she didn’t have to blame Thomas. It didn’t hurt her as much if it was Kamala’s fault.
I thought it was interesting how Thomas was shocked when Akhil told him they didn’t he liked them (Akhil, Amina, and Kamala). Thomas thought he was a good parent because he was good provider. I believe he also sent money back to India. Thomas was really clueless on the home front.
Yes … Sunil tries to convince Thomas to stay. He won’t and Kamala steps in to shoulder the blame.
Not so clueless that he can’t understand that Monica brings a whole world of hurt to Kamala nor that disappearing for weeks doesn’t endear him to the son and daughter who look for him at home. Yes, he falls back on that he provides for the family but he has to know his absence hurts. No one can be that clueless. Akhil calls him out on his actions.
Thomas is genuinely surprised when Akhil says, “You don’t even like us,” but it’s a pretty obvious conclusion for Akhil to draw. No matter how it’s phrased, Thomas doesn’t like to be with his family. His reason “Someone has to work” is just an excuse to be elsewhere. As I think about it, I wonder if he does know how much his absence hurts. He is not very observant as regards his family (sort of interesting considering how ultra-observant he has to be with his patients).
What did you think of Monica? I never thought for an instant that anything physical was going on between her and Thomas, but maybe an emotional affair? One thing that didn’t ring true to me was Kamala’s warmth toward her at the end:
I can see how Thomas’ approaching death might make Kamala more loving toward family, but she doesn’t seem like the type of person who would change in that way toward someone who has been a thorn in her side for years.
There is a stark contrast between the way Kamala treats Paige after Akhil dies and the way she treats Monica when Thomas’ death is near. What do you think makes her feel compassion in the latter case? It’s a dramatic change in personality. I’m not sure it’s “earned” – it felt out of character to me.
I’ll be interested to read it! There were many descriptions in the book that I really liked. This one, for example, when young Amina overhears a painful conversation between Ammachy and Sunil:
Something not good - at least for the Eapen family unit - goes on between Thomas and Monica. Those nights he never comes home - the night of his diagnosis, for example - where does he go if not to Monica? Monica sits with him in the evenings when he’s under treatment at the hospital. She’s the cause of the split between Thomas and Kamala the summer before Amina starts high school. (“Monica this and Monica that and why can’t you be more like Monica?”) And where can we find Thomas during his extended absence from family after the fight, if not with Monica? Also … and I can’t find it in the book right now … but Thomas leaves to meet with Monica after getting home one evening and adult Amina feels sad for her mother. You never get the feeling that Monica has a life - husband, children - away from Thomas. Yeah, I think Thomas and Monica have a long-term affair, though Thomas never takes that final step (divorce).
I think the contrast has to do with the difference between the unexpected loss of a child and the death of an loved adult from incurable illness. Kamala has never met Paige and, at that moment, can’t - refuses to - share Akhil with her. I think if circumstances had been different - Paige, a long time girlfriend - Kamala could have handled the situation. However, to walk in to Akhil’s room and find Paige with his things turns out to be more than Kamala in her grief can stand.
On the other hand, Kamala supports Thomas throughout his dying days. If she can help him see and talk to his deceased family, she can certainly let Monica in. Monica has been a part of Thomas’ life and without doubt loves him. I can see Kamala letting her come.
I am heading out for a weekend in the mountains. I have no idea what kind of internet connection I will have. If I don’t post for a while, I’ll be back on Monday. Have a great weekend everyone!
I found the section I looked for earlier: it takes place the evening Thomas finds out his tumor is shrinking. Thomas talks with Amina:
Within a couple of weeks, Kamala quits going to chemotherapy sessions with Thomas and
So, yes, an affair. Thomas uses work as an excuse. Amina more or less calls him on it, just not as bluntly as Akhil with his “You don’t like us.”
I think Thomas loves his family in his own way (hence the surprise at Akhil’s words) and he loves Monica. The trouble is he can’t really have both. Truly it works so much better when his children don’t point out the obvious. So maybe he understands how he hurts but only to a point: he wants Akhil and Amina not to notice and judge.
^ I saw the relationship as an intense friendship–a co-worker-soulmate thing with no sexual component. I thought Thomas might have a moral code of sorts that would prevent him from taking that step. I guess I am too naive. Kamala is a better woman than I. If my husband ever gets himself a mistress, she is not being invited to his deathbed.
I guess I’m naive, too! I got to the end of the book, and like Mary, thought they had “just” had a very intimate friendship, without a sexual relationship. I am persuaded by Ignatius’s evidence above that it was more. At any rate, the relationship, whatever it was, was inappropriate. I bristled when Monica addressed Amina in such a familiar manner; likewise when Thomas allowed Monica to do so.
I never thought for a moment that Thomas and Monica had a sexual relationship. I did not see one single thing that the author wrote that indicated this. Thomas struck me as a man for whom work was a mistress, and Monica was part of work.
@Caraid, have a nice weekend! I’ve just embarked on a road trip myself (spring break college visits with our youngest). So far, so good re the internet connection.
Two questions:
Are we to assume that Akhil goes for a drive up the mountain to clear his head and then succumbs to a narcoleptic episode that causes his accident? Or is he suicidal? I wasn’t sure because in the scene prior to Akhil’s death, Amina finds him crying in his room, in despair over his condition and afraid that Paige will no longer love him.
What is the point of having Thomas’ brain tumor shrink, against all medical odds? It is as if Akhil hands his father a miracle from the great beyond, but Thomas rejects it in favor of joining his son. It’s one thing to stop chemo when you are getting worse, and another to stop it when you are getting better. Essentially, Thomas chooses to end his own life–likely as a way of expiating the guilt he carries over Akhil’s death. (Hmmm, I think I just answered my own question.)
Interesting to read the varying opinions about Thomas and Monica – sexual affair or not. I wasn’t convinced it was sexual, but certainly the end result of their relationship was just as damaging to Thomas’ family.
I guess I was wondering about Sunil actually setting the fire in his sleep because if he had been sleepwalking for so many years prior to the fire, why hadn’t he ever done something even remotely as destructive before? Was there something that finally put him over the edge right before the fire? I can’t remember how much time had passed between Amina’s family’s visit and the fire. OTOH, though, it’s hard to imagine why Sunil would want to deliberately hurt his own family.
I also disliked the whole trespassing romp by Jaime and Amina – really, what was that all about? I kept thinking they’d get caught. I was OK with their relationship, though.
Re: Akhil’s death – my first thought was suicide. I was somewhat confused by the whole narcolepsy thing, though. Was that what was happening during his “Big Sleep?” If so, then why was it described that he “woke up?” The story narrative made it seem as though the sleep episodes had then pretty much stopped until he fell asleep at dinner. I don’t know much about narcolepsy – does the intensity of the condition vary over time? I had also (temporarily). forgotten about the car key hidden under Akhil’s car, and didn’t get what Amina was understanding when she followed Akhil’s gaze to his car during the battle over the keys with Kamala. How could she not feel partly responsible for his death, knowing that she could have said something about the hidden key, or removed it?
I think Amina understood that Akhil would use the hidden keys, but she didn’t say anything because she considered herself Akhil’s ally and didn’t want to make an enemy of him. Poor decision with fatal consequences, but also seems like how a teen might think.
Also, teen or not, Amina has a tendency to let things happen without intervening (or intervening only half-heartedly), e.g., Dimple exhibiting her photos, Kamala arranging her gig as wedding photographer, etc.
I believe she does feel tremendous guilt. When she plays the reverse time game, it always ends with her removing the hide-a-key box. As for Jamie, I think the minute Amina saw him, a relationship was inevitable–it’s all tangled up with her guilt and lingering sadness. Jamie knew Akhil and had a connection to him via Paige; being with Jamie brings Akhil back, just a little bit.
Remember when Amina talks with the reporter on the phone in the aftermath of the Bobby McCloud photograph. Amina exists in her own world at the moment and she makes no sense to the reporter (or the reader at the time). Amina thinks of Akhil while the reporter questions her about Bobby McCloud:
Re Thomas and Monica:
PlantMom: “At any rate, the relationship, whatever it was, was inappropriate.”
CBBBlinker: “I wasn’t convinced it was sexual, but certainly the end result of their relationship was just as damaging to Thomas’ family.”
and me in an earlier post: “Something not good - at least for the Eapen family unit - goes on between Thomas and Monica.”
Whether the relationship between Thomas and Monica contains a sexual component or not is moot. Sure Thomas loves his work and probably spends much time at the hospital. However, the close relationship between Thomas and Monica clearly hurts the Eapen family - each of them - Kamala, Akhil, Amina.
Mary: “I guess I am too naive.” And PlantMom: “I guess I’m naive, too!” Yeah, yeah, you are and that’s a good thing. I grew up with that Dad who spent time elsewhere (work-related, of course 8-| ) - till my mother finally had enough and divorced him when I was in seventh grade. So, let’s say, I’m way less trusting regarding Thomas and Monica. (Monica, in particular, seems readily available evenings and nights - as Amina notes.)
ignatius – thanks for the reminder about Amina’s interview. As much as I love reading on my Kindle, I’m very bad about marking passages to come back to later. With a print book it’s easy to slap a Post-it Note on pages to mark them. Plus there’s the whole “I didn’t know I should have marked something until later in the book, and then it’s hard to find it again” issue, especially with the Kindle.
And speaking of the Bobby McCloud incident – this brings up the Native American Indians vs India Indians juxtaposition going on in the book.
Mary - thanks for researching various types of narcolepsy. (Clearly I could have done that, but didn’t.) The description of KLS sounds spot on, especially the fact that it can occur in episodes – so Akhil seems to be better after he “wakes up.”
I read the book some time ago, so I don’t remember all the details. That said I thought the trespass scene was vital to the book. Amina feels Akhil’s presence and it seems so incredibly real to her. I thought the experience helped her understand her father’s hallucinations of Akhil and understand that he too really feels Akhil’s presence. That’s an overly simplistic way of saying it…but many of us have had the experience of feeling the presence of a deceased person in a way that seemed incredibly real. It might be in a dream, for example, that seems so vivid that we are surprised when we awake and realize we were dreaming.
One review of the book compares Amina’s role as photographer to her role in the narrative: somewhat detached, watching unnoticed from the sidelines, capturing moments not meant to be captured.
Mary the cook in Ammachy’s house mentions Sunil’s destructive bent (first chapter):
The section continues with Akhil questioning whether Sunil fulfills his subconscious wants while sleepwalking:
You’re right–no problem with your memory for details! The result of the trespassing is a sprained ankle, which leads to a brief, tender moment between Amina and her father:
I think returning to Mesa Prep is another version of Amina’s reverse time game, in which she yearns for Akhil and ultimately, in her imagination, brings him back. The irony is that when she actually gets what she wants–Akhil standing vividly before her–she flees from him in the dark as fast as she can. Thomas, on the other hand, has the opposite reaction: He embraces Akhil’s visits, welcoming him with a blaze of light.
Kamala is a better woman than I. If my husband ever gets himself a mistress, she is not being invited to his deathbed.