Sharp, funny and heartbreaking, Mistaken For Strangers is a family saga about what we inherit and what we leave behind.
At Heathrow Terminal 5's Duty Free halls, where departures are constant and nobody stays for long, Vik Bhattacharya has spent decades stuck working and avoiding the buried truths of his family. But when his father Sunjeev, once larger than life, is forced into a care home with dementia, Vik can no longer remain duty free. As Sunjeev's condition worsens, one obsession remains: he wants to see his eldest son Raj one last time. The trouble is, nobody knows where he is.
Estranged for twenty years, Raj vanished after a devastating family rupture. With their father's time running out, Vik and his practical but exhausted sister, Simi, must set out to find their brother and bring him home.
Their search takes them through the hidden corners of Hounslow, across old grudges, buried secrets and half-forgotten family legends. As they piece together the story of the brother they lost, they uncover uncomfortable truths about themselves, their parents and the fragile nature of memory itself.
Perfect for fans of character driven literary fiction and complex family sagas. For readers of Kit De Waal, Anne Tyler, Jonathan Franzen, Elizabeth Strout and Kiran Desai.
PRAISE FOR AMMAR KALIA
'A transportive and stylish novelist' - Vogue
'Kalia's debut is a moving and often very funny portrait of a family in transit - both physically and emotionally' - Dazed
'Equal parts funny and touching... A multigenerational story reflecting on the transient connections between generations across time and place, and the nature of home and memory' - GQ
'This rich debut... has poignancy and focus' - Observer
'Kalia explores cultural complexity and human frailty with compassion, wit and generosity of spirit' - Jake Lamar
'A Person is a Prayer moved me so deeply, it's filled with so much feeling you will not be able to stop thinking about it' - Annie Lord
'Kalia writes with humour, compassion and a wisdom that's rare' - Ian Russell-Hsieh
This novel contains references to bereavement and substance abuse.
Genre: Literary Fiction
At Heathrow Terminal 5's Duty Free halls, where departures are constant and nobody stays for long, Vik Bhattacharya has spent decades stuck working and avoiding the buried truths of his family. But when his father Sunjeev, once larger than life, is forced into a care home with dementia, Vik can no longer remain duty free. As Sunjeev's condition worsens, one obsession remains: he wants to see his eldest son Raj one last time. The trouble is, nobody knows where he is.
Estranged for twenty years, Raj vanished after a devastating family rupture. With their father's time running out, Vik and his practical but exhausted sister, Simi, must set out to find their brother and bring him home.
Their search takes them through the hidden corners of Hounslow, across old grudges, buried secrets and half-forgotten family legends. As they piece together the story of the brother they lost, they uncover uncomfortable truths about themselves, their parents and the fragile nature of memory itself.
Perfect for fans of character driven literary fiction and complex family sagas. For readers of Kit De Waal, Anne Tyler, Jonathan Franzen, Elizabeth Strout and Kiran Desai.
PRAISE FOR AMMAR KALIA
'A transportive and stylish novelist' - Vogue
'Kalia's debut is a moving and often very funny portrait of a family in transit - both physically and emotionally' - Dazed
'Equal parts funny and touching... A multigenerational story reflecting on the transient connections between generations across time and place, and the nature of home and memory' - GQ
'This rich debut... has poignancy and focus' - Observer
'Kalia explores cultural complexity and human frailty with compassion, wit and generosity of spirit' - Jake Lamar
'A Person is a Prayer moved me so deeply, it's filled with so much feeling you will not be able to stop thinking about it' - Annie Lord
'Kalia writes with humour, compassion and a wisdom that's rare' - Ian Russell-Hsieh
This novel contains references to bereavement and substance abuse.
Genre: Literary Fiction