I am still reeling from the conclusion to Sonora Jha’s most recent novel. The Laughter is a campus novel, narrated by Dr. Oliver Harding, an aging white male college professor who becomes fixated with his Pakistani colleague, Ruhaba Khan, and her nephew. The story is set against the backdrop of campus protests, placing the two main characters at cross-purposes; Khan supports students’ demands for change and Dr. Harding represents the old guard of academia at which these demands take aim.

The Laughter was a challenging read for me, since Harding is the most repugnant narrator I’ve experienced in some time. I also felt reluctant to return to the 2016 election, the period in which the book is set. Even so, I’m glad I trusted the reviews and picked up this book – it’s angry, nuanced and absolutely fascinating. Jha’s novel reads like a thriller, and once I hit the halfway mark, I couldn’t put The Laughter down.

I can’t wait for this book to be published, so I can discuss it with friends. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC.

This is a story you won't soon forget. Sonora Jha has seamlessly incorporated the majority of our cultural woes into one sharp story set on a campus in the midwest.

It's hard to root for Dr. Oliver Harding. In some ways, it's even harder under Jha's deft hand as you completely (and unwillingly) hear all of his thoughts. Harding is the type of man who is truly just a juvenile boy. He uncanningly says the worst possible phrases in an argument. He's the man who never learns from his mistakes and recreates them over and over again.

Jha juxtaposes him with an up and coming law professor from Pakistan who seeks tenure and change on campus. Oliver is obsessed with Ruhaba and never considers why or if it will be reciprocated. Jha takes time to create a beautiful portrait of the young visiting nephew Adil and then bring all three of them into and epic crash. If you love campus novels or just want an unforgettable story, The Laughter is for you!
#HarperVia #SonoraJha #TheLaughter

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for the eARC of this masterful novel.

The Laughter brings something completely new to the "campus novel" subgenre. Set just before the 2016 presidential election in Seattle, the novel follows our narrator, the puffed-up English professor Oliver Harding, through his increasing sexual obsession with a colleague, Ruhaba Khan, a law professor originally from Pakistan. When Professor Khan's troubled teenage nephew Adil comes to town, Ollie takes the opportunity to ingratiate himself into their world as a pseudo-father figure for Adil, ultimately leading to an act of shocking violence that's foreshadowed from the beginning.

Almost every character in this book is difficult and/or unlikeable to some degree, not the least of which is Oliver, whose narration is replete with micro- and macro-aggressions against anyone he has deemed an "other." This book is a fascinating, well-written study of some deeply flawed people who think very highly of themselves and a college campus turning into a powder keg at a very specific moment in history. I'll definitely purchase a hard copy of this for myself when it's released.