The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

A Novel

By: Kiran Desai

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss

“A spectacular literary achievement. I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever.”—Ann Patchett

“A novel so wonderful, when I got to the last page, I turned to the first and began again.”—Sandra Cisneros

“Devastating, lyrical, and deeply romantic . . . an unmitigated joy to read.”—Khaled Hosseini

“A grand and stirring love story, written in exquisite prose.”—Namwali Serpell

“Magnificent . . . A masterpiece.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

One of Publishers Weekly’s Top 10 New Books of the Fall • One of Book Riot’s Three Most Anticipated Books of the Fall

When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once tried to matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that served only to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.

Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India. She fears that she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence of his warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.

*Includes a downloadable PDF of the family trees in the book

A Mystical Story Set in 2 Continents

This story and narration were fantastic. Vermont, Delhi, NYC, Goa and Mexico are all settings for this magical story of love, loss and loneliness. It reminded me of Isabella Allende’s story telling at times. It took her 20 years to write this gem of a book. Treat yourself and download this book. You are in for a ride.
-Patricia

Worth all the delicious hours of listening

This story is sprawling and beautifully written. Use the downloaded PDF to establish the names and families of Sonia and Sunny’s stories. The descriptions are breathtaking and the beautiful voice of the reader makes it a pleasure!

Cultural presentation and dissection

Some fascinating insights into people and cultures; but way too wordy, tangential, and unnecessary divergencies

Best book I’ve read this year

What a wonderfully woven tale. I am grieving that it’s over. I loved the characters separate stories that all came together so beautifully. The pace was perfect. There were no missteps.

Tedious, I finally gave up.

This ponderous tale goes on forever, describing the characters’ endless series of bad decisions. Beautiful imagery with interesting, albeit disturbing details about Indian life and culture, do not rescue the reader from the wearisome travails of characters whom one soon learns not to care about. With over seven hours left to go, I decided to cut my losses. Sonia and Sonny deserve to be lonely.