Namrata Patel has been writing for 20 years, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she had more time to work on it. She had always been interested in dual culture and challenges of the diaspora, specifically Indians who had moved to the United States. The isolation of COVID really brought home how lonely life can be if you don’t feel like you fit anywhere. Her debut novel The Candid Life of Meena Dave follows a photojournalist who inherits an apartment from a stranger. The apartment in Back Bay Boston surrounds her with a close-knit network of other Indian-Americans.  Meena comes to learn more about herself and her culture, as well as understands the gift of found family and friendship through this experience.

The book comes out June 1 but those book lovers who have Amazon Prime can download her book for free during the month of May with their First Reads program.  If you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you are able to download 1 free book a month from their First Reads selections which are editor favorites hitting bookshelves the following month.  Just search First Reads in the search bar.  

You can find Namrata Patel on instagram at @namratapatelauthor, on Twitter at Nampatel or on her author website, nampatel.com.

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Books Mentioned In This Episode:

1- A Room With a View by E. M. Forester

2- Six Days in Rome by Franscesca Giacco

3- My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith

4- The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel

5- Books by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni