Some People
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Author: Parini Shroff
Published: 2026
Genre: LiteraryFiction
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IBC Editorial Rating: 4.5/5
This book is handpicked by the IBC Editorial Team. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to have a book reviewed by IBC, you may reach us at editorial@indianbookclub.com — we’ll be happy to review it.
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Editorial Review:
Malti Patel is fine. Concussed and bruised, perhaps, but entirely capable of recovering on her own, without her daughter's soon-to-be-ex-husband hovering nearby. And yet here she is, stuck with exactly that arrangement, as her doctor insists on a week of in-home supervision and her daughter Kavya remains unreachable, halfway across the world in India. Nathan Whitlock, the man divorcing Kavya amid a tangle of cultural misunderstanding and old, unspoken wounds, proves too conscientious to let Malti manage alone. What follows is seven uneasy days between two people who want nothing to do with each other, yet who may understand Kavya, and the ways they have each hurt her, better than anyone else alive. Rich with warmth and honesty, Some People is a quietly moving story about the long, imperfect work of forgiveness.
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Book Summary:
Malti Patel has spent decades building an independent life, raising her daughter Kavya alone in the United States after her husband left to start a new family in India. That fierce self-sufficiency is put to the test when a sudden concussion leaves her in need of a week of in-home supervision, and with Kavya away at graduate school abroad, the only person available to step in is Nathan, her daughter's soon-to-be-ex-husband. Neither Malti nor Nathan wants this arrangement. Their history is tangled with cultural misunderstanding, old resentments, and each of their private theories about why Kavya's marriage and her relationship with her mother fractured the way they did. But confined to the same house for seven days, the two find themselves with little choice but to talk, first cautiously, then with surprising honesty, about the woman they both love and have each, in different ways, hurt. As the week unfolds, Malti begins to share pieces of her past she has rarely spoken aloud, the reasons she left India, the hardships of building a new life as an immigrant and single mother, and the guarded independence that has protected her ever since. Nathan, meanwhile, works through his own reckoning with what went wrong in his marriage, arriving at insights about love and blame he had not let himself consider before. Shroff lets their relationship unfold gradually, through conversations that are awkward, funny, and unexpectedly tender, building toward a mutual understanding neither of them expected to find in the other.
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Key Takeaways:
- “Forgiveness as an ongoing practice, not a single moment”: Rather than offering a tidy resolution, the novel treats forgiveness as something Malti and Nathan must work toward gradually, through discomfort and honesty rather than a single cathartic breakthrough. Shroff makes clear that understanding someone we have hurt, or been hurt by, takes real time and effort. - “The weight of what goes unsaid between generations”: Much of Kavya's pain, though she remains largely offscreen, stems from things her mother and husband never fully articulated to her or to each other. The novel is thoughtful about how silence, even when well-intentioned, can do as much damage as words. - “Resilience shaped by immigration and loss”: Malti's history as a single mother who built an entirely new life in America after her husband's departure grounds the novel in real emotional stakes. Her fierce independence is shown as both a source of strength and a barrier she has to slowly learn to lower. - “Connection found in unlikely proximity”: Malti and Nathan share no obvious common ground beyond the woman they both love, yet their forced closeness becomes the very thing that allows them to finally understand each other. The novel suggests that some of the most meaningful relationships form exactly where we least expect them.
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Iconic Lines, Scenes & Characters:
- Malti Patel. Fiercely independent and slow to let anyone see her as vulnerable, Malti's gradual openness with Nathan reveals a woman shaped by real hardship and quiet resilience. Her reluctance to be cared for makes her eventual trust in him feel genuinely earned. - Nathan Whitlock. Both strong and unexpectedly vulnerable, Nathan's honest reckoning with his failed marriage gives the novel much of its emotional insight. His willingness to examine his own role in the relationship's unravelling makes him a surprisingly sympathetic presence. - The seven days of forced proximity. The narrow, contained setting of Malti's recovery week gives the novel its structure, forcing two reluctant people into the kind of sustained conversation neither would have chosen. That constraint becomes the engine for everything they eventually learn about each other. - Kavya's presence in her absence. Though she never appears directly, Kavya's influence shapes every conversation between Malti and Nathan, her offscreen presence a constant reminder of what each of them stands to repair, or lose, depending on what they do with this unexpected time together.
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Who Should Read This:
Readers who love character-driven fiction light on plot but rich in emotional depth will find this novel deeply rewarding, especially those drawn to stories that unfold through conversation and reflection rather than dramatic incident. Anyone interested in stories about family, immigration, and the long shadow of generational misunderstanding will connect with Malti's history and the ways it shaped both her own life and her daughter's. Fans of unlikely, slow-building relationships between characters who initially want nothing to do with each other will appreciate how thoughtfully Shroff develops the connection between Malti and Nathan, balancing humor with genuine emotional weight. A note for readers: this is a quiet, introspective novel with a small cast and minimal plot, built more around reflection and dialogue than external events. Readers looking for a fast-paced or heavily plotted read should expect something more contemplative instead.
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IBC Editorial Note:
This review is part of the Indian Book Club’s editorial initiative to spotlight books that inspire, inform, and leave a lasting impact on readers. Every title featured is carefully handpicked and reviewed by the IBC Editorial Team to maintain quality, authenticity, and literary value. If you are an author, publisher, or reader and would like to submit a book for review, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please write to us at: editorial@indianbookclub.com Our team personally evaluates each submission, and selected books are featured as official IBC Editorial Reviews on our platform.