"Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on an affluent Indian family that is forever changed by a visit from their English relatives. Set mainly in Kerala, India, in 1969, it is the story of Rahel and her twin brother Estha, who learn that their whole world can change in a single day, that love and life can be lost in a moment.