And Laughter Fell from the Sky - by Jyotsna Sreenivasan (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

"A timely story about what matters most deeply: our quest for love and acceptance....Jyotsna Sreenivasan's writing speaks straight to the heart."
--Kim Barnes, author of In the Kingdom of Men

And Laughter Fell from the Sky, the enthralling first novel from Jyotsna Sreenivasan, is a stirring contemporary love story about two young Indian-Americans trying to find love and their place in the world, while dealing with the confines and pressures of their culture and their families. A remarkable literary journey that carries the reader from the American heartland to the Pacific Northwest and into the teeming heart of India, And Laughter Fell from the Sky is a magnificent debut by a fresh and exciting new voice, immediately placing Sreenivasan alongside Jhumpa Lahiri, popular author of The Namesake, as an expert chronicler of the Indian-American cultural experience.

From the Back Cover

Still living at home despite a good career and financial independence, beautiful and sophisticated Rasika has always been the dutiful daughter. With her twenty-sixth birthday fast approaching, she agrees to an arranged marriage, all while trying to hide from her family her occasional dalliances with other men.

Abhay is everything an Indian-American son shouldn't be. Having spent his postcollege years living in a commune, he now hops from one dead-end job to another, brooding over what he really wants to do with his life.

Old family friends, Rasika and Abhay seem to have nothing in common, yet when the two reconnect by chance, sparks immediately fly. Abhay loves Rasika, but he knows her family would never approve. Rasika reluctantly accepts she has feelings for Abhay, but can she turn her back on the family rules she has always tried so hard to live by? The search to find answers takes Abhay and Rasika out of their native Ohio to Oregon and India, where they find that what they have together might just be something worth fighting for.

Review Quotes

"Jyotsna Sreenivasan's poignant debut novel And Laughter Fell from the Sky is a moving love story that is both traditional and modern, surprising and deeply comforting - it's not only about finding love, but a way to be true to ourselves." -- Laura Dave, author of The First Husband

"And Laughter Fell from the Sky is a timely story about what matters most deeply: our quest for love and acceptance, and our fear that we will never find that person who might give us both. Jyotsna Sreenivasan's writing speaks straight to the heart." -- Kim Barnes, author of In the Kingdom of Men

"Insightful, hopeful, and luminescent, Sreenivasan's novel will make you believe in the power of love to overcome all obstacles." -- Anjali Banerjee, author of Haunting Jasmine and Imaginary Men

"Sreenivasan writes with a tender, seemingly semiautobiographical view of her subjects and clearly understands the familial and cultural pressures on second-generation Americans. . . . A witty, timely exploration of the varying definitions of success, belonging, cultural identity, and the human desire to connect." -- Booklist