Five whopping ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️‘s❗️

The Vibrant Years: A Novel by Sonali Dev   

A sparkling intergenerational story of three women of Indian heritage. Bindu Desai (Binji), a Goan widow from Mumbai who has decided to buy a condo in Florida. Alisha, or rather Aly, her daughter-in-law who’s smart, a broadcast journalist who’s been waiting ten years for the big break. She’s lined up a major interview with Meryl Streep, but is being given the runaround by her studio. They’ve decided someone else from the firm will anchor the interview. That is when Aly gives them the pertinent information. It’s not discrimation they assure her! (Loud snorts of indignation from me!) This has happened to Aly constantly over the years.  By the way Aly is divorced from Bindu’s son Ashish who’s returned to Mumbai to find himself, follow his dream, whatever! Binji has chosen to stay in America and live with Aly. Unusual, you and I say! And that’s what’s so striking about Binji. She’s unusual! She doesn’t conform! It seems she had had enough of doing that before she was widowed.

Then there’s her granddaughter Cullie Desai. A genius who’s on the spectrum. She’s developed an app, Shloka (which won awards for its ‘elegant’ coding). It helps people with Anxiety. Now the company who she sold it to (with certain requirements) wants to make the app something users have to additionally subscribe to. Cullie is furious. That option was never on the table. Then there’s her relationship with the super cad Steve, who helped her market the app, and made promises about divorcing his wife, whom he went back to a year later. Cullie bluffs about a new app development as a bargaining point against placing a subscription on Shloka. (Oops! One she now has to design!!) Of course the three women are dragged into trialling Cullie’s app which hilariously is a dating app!

Binji is a force of nature, whose behaviour unsettles some of the white community in her Florida condo. I love her! Binji is doing nothing but being herself, but is seen as threatening to the intolerant majority, (mostly women). Binji dances on regardless. Things do get tense when her friend Richard dies though.

One big question for me is, who left Binji the million dollars she used to buy her condo with anyway? 

Each chapter begins with a quote from the journal of Oscar Seth. Who is this person and how does he relate to Binji? Very mysterious.

A story of the past rushing to catch up, of mystery, of joy, of finding oneself, of dancing free. Indeed a vibrant and colorful read. I was angry, and hurt on behalf of these women and I cheered as they won through and triumphed! A fearsome, often heart stopping tale!

A Mindy’s Book Studio ARC via NetGalley.                                              

Many thanks to the author and publisher.