Shilpi Somaya Gowda is one of the authors where I anxiously look forward to their next book! So, I was very excited (and many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers) to be able to read The Shape of Family before its publication date.
Once again, Ms. Gowda takes us on an interesting journey that explores grief, families and culture.
In this book, we meet the Olander family - mother, Jaya, is Indian and father, Keith, is white. Their cultural backgrounds are very different as were their families and the way they were raised. The two children, Karina and Prem, explore life through both parents’ perspectives, although not perhaps realizing it at the time.
We get a glimpse of their life before .... and then the bulk of the novel takes place after an earth shattering tragedy. Most of the book focuses on Karina, and I’m conflicted about this because I thought both parents were very interesting and wanted to explore their lives a bit more.
The Shape of Family, at its heart to me, was about grief and how differently each family member faced (or didn’t initially face) their own grief. It drew me in from the beginning and really was a wonderful book (although The Secret Daughter is still my favorite)!

THE SHAPE OF FAMILY
BY SHILIPI SOMAYA GOWDA

WOW! This book was fantastic for me to read. I can say that I didn't like the book in the very beginning. Usually I can tell right away within the first few pages if I am going to love a book and I am going to have to change my perspective as using that as a measuring device of whether a book is something great and worthy of my time after reading this one. The reason being is once I decided to stick it out with this one I discovered that I absolutely loved this book and I would have missed out on such a terrific story if I used my old way of measuring a book's merit. This was truly a most wonderful rewarding experience and a privilege to read and review. I loved this book so much that I am going to look for this author's two previous novels as soon as I am done writing this review because I was so touched and moved by this talented author's work. This is a favorite book for me that I will never forget and I am going to recommend this to everyone that I know.

This book is easily one of the best written books that I have ever read and definitely going to make it into my list on Goodreads.com for one of my favorites for 2019. The story was well crafted and the writing was very lovely. I loved all of the characters and thought that they were very well developed. The story is about a family that suffers one of the saddest tragedies that a family could go through and the different way that they process guilt and grief is what determines how they fare in years to come. The guilt and grief that this family suffers from not only splinters their relationships with each other it completely blows this family apart sending each of them on their own separate journeys to try to live their lives. Instead of pulling together as a team to try to carry on with their lives they all go their separate ways going forward and try to build their lives doing what each of them think will bring solace and peace. But sadly they are not a single unit anymore they are all individuals that look outside the family to restore their sense of equilibrium. Each person deals with their guilt and grief in vastly different ways. This tale is very realistic and could easily happen to the most closely knit families living today. Guilt and grief are so corrosive if not dealt with properly and that is in essence what this story is all about. If they could have only discussed their true feelings to each other while they were under going family therapy it could have alleviated some of the private suffering that they each under go trying to move forward with their lives. This story will haunt me and is unforgettable in the way that great literature has the power to do. Isn't that the reason we love to read? We are very much like the individuals in this family trying to do the best we can and know how to live a meaningful life. We often read to learn about ourselves and find meaning and this is the sort of literature that I feel in my humble opinion that not only entertains but teaches a cautionary lesson and can help each one of us that this story touches to learn and grow and be conscious of what to do and what not to do if we ourselves ever have to face what this family did. I personally like to learn a little more about life when I read a novel and this is that rare example of learning through reading and vicariously exploring life's experiences and the best kind of books accomplishes what this book does. This book ultimately is a character study that ensues with the fall out of one of the most horrific events that could easily visit any family and it also is a lesson in how to best move forward. This book delivers on every level that a reader can both enjoy and also learn from.

I really want to keep my plot summary at a minimum because I feel that the less the reader knows about the circumstances of this novel the more powerful the reading experience will be. Also I don't want to spoil the reader's own enjoyment and I wish that all readers get to experience the learning and inner self growth that can happen by reading such an impactful story. Jaya is a mother and wife who was born in India who emigrated to London where she meets Keith who is her husband and father of their two children who was born in the United States. They have a strong willed teenager named Karina and a beautiful younger son named Prem. They are a loving family who enjoy spending time together doing the typical things. The tragedy is something that fate unkindly points its ugly finger towards them and it sets the stage for each of these people and the choices they make to move on with their lives. I will leave it at that and promise each reader that you are in for the most rewarding journey if you read this excellent story that explores how each member deals with this terrible event. There is ultimately hope and inner growth that each member will find their way in the end. So as I said this is a timeless and universal theme that this author's talent has crafted that ticks all of the right boxes to being a masterpiece. I have not read this author's two previous novels but plan to purchase them after I am finished writing and posting this review. When it is closer to publication I will post my review on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble and social media. I have included in this review the link that I have already posted on Goodreads.com.. I will be recommending this book to everyone that I know and plan on purchasing several copies one of which will be a keepsake for myself to own the physical copy for my library so everytime I look at this book I will marvel at what a beautiful story this is and I will gift the other copies to other readers who love good literature as this is contemporary literary fiction at it's best. In closing I wish to thank the author and HarperCollins publishers for providing me with an advanced readers copy as I want to repeat that I am so grateful for the privilege of reading this Five star book. I would give this one hundred stars if I could. It is rare that a book can have so much impact as this one did and if you remember me saying in the beginning I was not thinking that I would love this. I have also learned a lesson to not be so quick in judging by the first few pages if a book is my kind of book or not. I highly recommend this book to everybody and I am a fan of this new author to me.

Thank you to Net Galley, Shilipi Somayer Gowda and HarperCollins publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a story about a family who endures a terrible tragedy and faces an aftermath filled with difficult challenges. Mother/daughter, husband/wife relationships suffer and all must go through very hard times. This book was written well and describes situations from different family points of view.

Loved this family drama book. Lots of layers to the story, which made you hafta keep going. Nicely done!

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I abandoned this book halfway through. I loved the author's previous books, but didn't like the characters in this one & found it dreary and bleak.