Anita Desai

Whilst Uma, a plain spinster, lives in India smothered by her overbearing parents, her over-indulged younger brother Arun is studying in Massachusetts. He is bewildered by the freedom and culture he finds in the home of the Patton family.

In a small fishing villlage near Bombay, Lila and Hari, aged 13 and 12, struggle to keep their family going when their mother is ill and their father usually the worse for drink. When Hari goes to Bombay to find work, Lila seems to be responsible for everything. Can Hari survive in the city, and can Lila manage at home without him?

Eric, an awkward young man, accompanies his confident girlfriend to Mexico, where he finds himself on a quest for his own family. Past and present are brought together on the Dia de los Muertos, a feast day to celebrate the dead.