Papa wobbled his head and held up his thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart. “It was really the doctor.”

His father’s eyelids were beginning to flag, but Anil was eager to keep him talking. “T-tell me about it,” he stammered. “Please?”

Papa rolled the pawn he was considering between his fingers before setting it down on the board. He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together over his belly. “There was a big tent set up outside the market, right across from the coconut stand. Fifty people were lined up outside. Inside were rows and rows of cots. The doctor came over and explained what he would do to fix Maya’s lip. He showed us pictures—before and after—of other children he had treated.” Papa shook his head once. “Magic. A miracle, really.”

He looked up at Anil, his eyes moist. “You should be a doctor,” he said. “You will do great things.”

Praise for The Shape of Family

“Gowda renders even the worst decisions made by the Olanders with compassion and insight, so much so that rooting for them—despite and because of their fragility—becomes a pleasure. I know these characters, and I love them, and for some unnameable hours in this uneasy spring, their journey from life, to death, to life was also mine. What a gift, to be that transported, and, eventually—blessedly—transformed.”

—San Francisco Chronicle

“This beautifully written, poignant novel explores how one loving family deals with an unspeakable tragedy. It’s a novel about race and culture, parents and siblings, marriage and love, but most of all, it’s about finding hope after darkness. Shilpi Somaya Gowda is a compassionate and wise storyteller who keeps us riveted from beginning to end.”

—Jean Kwok, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Translation

“A moving exploration of how loss can change the contours of a life. Gowda deftly examines the forces that can make and remake a family in this engrossing page-turner of a novel.”

—Thrity Umrigar, author of The Secrets Between Us

“Not simply a story about tragedy or even the dangers of fervent devotion, but a story about mourning in all its myriad forms.”

—San Diego Union-Tribune

“In prose of quiet beauty, Shilpi Somaya Gowda drills down into the American dream and comes up with pure gold. You will cry, rage, worry, and come to love the members of the Olander family.”

—Tatjana Soli, author of The Lotus Eaters

“A deeply involving story of a family falling apart, The Shape of Family rings so true.”

—Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room

“An unforgettable portrait of a family’s loss, longing, and reconstruction. Haunting and beautiful, The Shape of Family takes hold of you from the first page and does not let go.”

—Lawrence Hill, author of Someone Knows My Name

“Thought-provoking to the core, The Shape of Family is both a warning about how our lives can change in an instant and a testament to the strength we must summon to keep a family whole.”