The Leaving of Things

By: Jay Antani

Narrated by: Sanjiv Jhaveri

Vikram is not your model Indian-American teenager. Growing up in late 1980s Wisconsin, he is rebellious, adrift, and resentful of his Indian roots. But a disastrously drunken weekend becomes a one-way ticket back to the homeland for Vikram after his outraged parents decide to pack up the family and return to India.

So begins a profound journey of culture shock, loneliness, and self-discovery as Vikram - navigating the chaos of daily Indian life and the antiquated social rules of his college - finds the confidence to explore his own creativity, reconnect with his family, and meet unforgettable new friends. Most of all, he discovers that India is his soul…. but America is his heart, the land of his destiny, leading to a once-in-a-lifetime test of courage as he sets out to chart a bold new course for his future.

©2014 Jay Antani (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Beauty of the Indian-American transition

Love the story and what Vikram’s experience is. Hated the accents performed, the Indian accents felt so stereotypical and even the accent of Vik’s American friends felt very forced the performer could’ve just used his normal voice for that

A time filler

I liked the story in part because of the narrator. Some interesting moments of growth in the main character. The story is written from the main characters perspective only. There is no development of other characters.
Some very astute comparisons between the USA and India.
I'm glad I listened to it, glad this was a discount purchase, but in the end I was still waiting for the story to tech a climax.

YA book. Fine for teens but lacking for adults.

YA book. Fine for teens but lacking for adults. Narrator's tone felt much better at 1.25 speed.

Usually love author read books

Unfortunately, this is a book I think I would have better enjoyed by reading. The author's voice did not match the character I imagined. Still, a very good story!

5 ⭐️ novel

This is my second time listening & reading this marvelous book! I never revised it last time,

First it's laugh out funny when Victrum is coming from America to live in India. The events that happen to him could happen to us all, but the author uses them in so many feel good moments.

Second, it has an emotional way of things that allow Victrum to grow also. I adored the performance of the reader, his Indian accent of certain characters is hilarious! I would recommend this to everyone it's that excellent!

Brilliant

A great work of a young learning to love his roots. Stunning descriptions. I felt that I was in India. Highly recommend this book

Young Adult Entry Marketed for Adults

I started out really pleased with this book. I usually love hearing about complicated culture clash situations. Then at about the 5 hour point I started to feel really bored and increasingly tired of the flat, mono dynamic and lackluster storytelling. It had become very repetitive and teenager in focus with little to no insight. I mean--after all the main character--the voice of the story is a college student--not in middle schooler.

I thought that maybe I had gotten the genre mixed up--that this was a book from the Juvenile or Young Adult book collection. I checked other reviews over on Amazon. What I found were the tons of 5 star reviews--the same reviews that prompted me to choose the book dominating the review area. When I dug deeper I found many other less favorable reviews that echoed my feelings and concerns.

This book--to me is much more suited to the Young Adult reader. There are so many missed opportunities for character and location development. The whole thing felt superficial and stereotypical. Boring and disappointing. Can't recommend.