LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 BOOKER PRIZE A transfixing novel about two unforgettable characters seeking to free themselves--one from the expectations of women in early 20th century Punjab, and the other from the weight of life in the contemporary Indian diaspora. Mehar, a young bride in rural 1929 Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. Married to three brothers in a single ceremony, she and her now-sisters spend their days sequestered from the men in the family's "china room"--except when their domineering mother-in-law summons them to a darkened chamber at night.
