Took me awhile to get into it, but then I really enjoyed it
Rajesh Bhatt is unhappy with how his career as a university professor has stalled. He had a wonderful relationship with his wife, Eva, and their two young sons, Neel and Arun. The family belongs to a tennis and swim club that they really enjoy, but Raj has always had to deal with racism and microaggressions as an Indian American man in a predominantly white place. We follow him as his life starts to unravel over one week, during which he makes a stupid racist joke at the club and then at the university some of his students start protesting against him for being what they consider "anti-American" or reverse racist.
I have to say, I did not like Raj for at least the first half of the book. His character was not very apologetic for his behavior - which changed later in the book - and seemed at first to dive into his own experiences as a way to avoid dealing with his own mistakes. In the end though, the plot ramped up and Raj's character arc was redeeming while staying realistic. I appreciated how the two parallel plots at the tennis club and at the university were handled in the end.
I have to say, I did not like Raj for at least the first half of the book. His character was not very apologetic for his behavior - which changed later in the book - and seemed at first to dive into his own experiences as a way to avoid dealing with his own mistakes. In the end though, the plot ramped up and Raj's character arc was redeeming while staying realistic. I appreciated how the two parallel plots at the tennis club and at the university were handled in the end.