“Professor Chandra is as acerbic and unbending a curmudgeon as one could wish to find scowling from the pages of a novel. Brilliant, pompous, and baffled by the world outside his Cambridge study, Chandra is forced on a reluctant quest to America to find himself and his family. Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss is searingly funny, uplifting, and wonderful.”—Helen Simonson, New York Times bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The Summer Before the War
“I loved this beautiful, beautiful book. It’s tender and compassionate, it’s written with exquisite care and verve, and it’s so so so funny.”—Marian Keyes, internationally bestselling author of Angels and Last Chance Saloon
“By turns charming and witty, [Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss] is an effortless, uplifting read that has many pertinent observations to make about family relationships.”—Daily Mail, “Best New Fiction”
“This brilliant and eloquent novel . . . is a sort of Zen satire in which tolerance and understanding mingle with hilarious criticisms of contemporary mores. . . . A wonderful read.”—The Mail on Sunday
“Uplifting literature, or up-lit as it’s called by publishers, is dominating the bestseller charts. . . . One of the funniest . . . is Professor Chandra Follows His Bliss by Rajeev Balasubramanyam. . . . Beneath the comedy lie serious concerns. Wellness, capitalism, mollycoddled minds intolerant of political difference: Balasubramanyam’s issues are current.”—The Sunday Times
“Balasubramanyam sets Chandra on a journey through his hardest feelings, working through the anger and emotional ineptitude that too often conceal his infinite love for his family. At first, Chandra’s children take even his self-blame for selfishness, but subtle changes in his introspection make for a big outward shift. With humor and emotional agility, Balasubramanyam writes a feel-good story that leaves room for feeling bad.”—Booklist
“[A] joyful, heartwarming novel . . . Balasubramanyam invests it with compassion, humor, and kindness. . . . Recommended for anyone looking for a satisfying, uplifting read.”—Library Journal
“Recovering fuddy-duddy Chandra is a droll creation, and his journey of self-realization feels like the real thing.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Rajeev Balasubramanyam wields considerable humor, the perfect antidote to our polarized and exhausting present, while crafting a tender and thoughtful tale. This is an absolute gem of a book.”—Shelf Awareness
“Heartrending, hilarious, and deeply wise, this novel about the clueless Professor Chandra—emotional blockhead, Cambridge don, and Nobel-wannabe—left me in tears when I wasn’t laughing. His crash course in self-realization at seventy reveals how little he actually knows about himself and the crazy family he loves, and that it’s never too late to grow up or follow your bliss wherever it takes you. I could not put this novel down.”—Mark Matousek, author of Sex Death Enlightenment and When You’re Falling, Dive
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