Book Description 

“I have a soft spot for underdogs. And late bloomers. You’ve told me a lot of things about yourself, so let me tell you something about me.”

After thirty-six years of a dutiful but unhappy arranged marriage, recently divorced Suresh and Lata Raman find themselves starting new paths in life. Suresh is trying to navigate the world of online dating on a website that caters to Indians and is striking out at every turn—until he meets a mysterious, devastatingly attractive younger woman who seems to be smitten with him. Lata is enjoying her newfound independence, but she’s caught off guard when a professor in his early sixties starts to flirt with her.  

Meanwhile, Suresh and Lata’s daughter, Priya, thinks her father’s online pursuits are distasteful even as she embarks upon a clandestine affair of her own. And their son, Nikesh, pretends at a seemingly perfect marriage with his law-firm colleague and their young son, but hides the truth of what his relationship really entails. Over the course of three weeks in August, the whole family will uncover one another’s secrets, confront the limits of love and loyalty, and explore life’s second chances. 

Charming, funny, and moving, Late Bloomers introduces a delightful new voice in fiction with the story of four individuals trying to understand how to be happy in their own lives—and as a family.

My Review 

The four members of the Raman family provide the reader with a glimpse into their lives. At first, they are separated, each living their own life– but as the narrative progresses, they come together and have to spend time with each other as a quartet for the first time in many years. Furthermore, they are all keeping secrets from each other. Some are relatively benign and others are more serious. 

I found myself captivated by each character’s story arc. While some were not particularly likeable at times, I never found myself bored by a chapter and/or wishing I could move on to the next character’s storyline. That said, if I had to pick a favourite, I would have to go with Lata, who is considering dating for the first time in her life (her marriage was arranged) and has no idea how to proceed with finding love after her divorce. 

I don’t want to diminish the power of the written word: this is an amazing debut, but I would love to see this book made into a limited series on a streaming network. There’s plenty of melodrama, and the characters are all fully fleshed out and have plausible motivations that fuel their actions and interactions with the people in their respective narratives. 

I would absolutely recommend Late Bloomers. I loved not knowing what was going to happen next or how the others would react to secrets being revealed. I am looking forward to reading more from Varadarajan in the future. 

I received a digital ARC of this book from Random House/NetGalley