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Back Recipe for Persuasion Save as PDF
Chapters (44)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Acknowledgments
  39. P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . .*
  40. About the Author
  41. About the Book
  42. Reading Group Guide
  43. Also by Sonali Dev
  44. About the Publisher

If I were to sit down with my laptop in that very room, there would be a certain something I’d have to reach for to string together the words I wanted to say, that nebulous process of making stories; that terror of getting them wrong, or right; that obsession over the telling of them. This was the connection that erased all that separated us. This was the connection I felt in her room as palpable as the cold draft coming through her window.

It struck me, standing where she had stood, that this connection is what we seek when we read. To merge into someone else, to become them and experience the world as they do, and to have their story entertain us, inform us, maybe even change us. Something about finding that with someone who lived so long before me and so differently than I do was exactly what I needed. So, I tucked it away in my heart for the times when I’ll inevitably need help with the terror and joy of telling stories—the thing Jane and I will always share. image

Reading Group Guide

  1. Food has a significant role in how the characters relate to one another. Are there certain foods that have special meaning to you? Did you enjoy how the characters use food to help deepen their understanding of one another?
  2. Sports also play a big part in the lives of these characters. Discuss how playing sports (or in Rico’s case, not playing) affects their relationships with themselves and one another.
  3. So many characters in this book are hiding different aspects of their histories. What are the things that the characters hide behind? What does each one learn in the end?
  4. Ashna and Shoban both feel they are very different from each other, though, in fact, they have many similarities. How does that add to the tension of the story? What are some of their biggest similarities and differences?
  5. There are some very difficult scenes involving marital rape and alcoholism. How do these add to your understanding of how Shoban and Ashna come to be who they are?
  6. Shoban believes that by staying away she is making a better choice for both Ashna and herself. Do you think she’s right?
  7. Family, both found family and family by blood, is incredibly important to each of these characters. Discuss how the nature of these bonds impacts their stories.
  8. So much of this novel is about second chances. Discuss how that theme comes across in the story. Do you believe in second chances?
  9. Would you watch a season of Cooking with the Stars? Who would you root for?
  10. Recipe for Persuasion borrows some of its motifs from Jane Austen’s Persuasion. If Jane Austen were reading this book, what do you think she’d say? image

Also by Sonali Dev

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors

A Distant Heart

A Change of Heart

The Bollywood Bride

A Bollywood Affair

About the Publisher

Australia