The Limits of the World

A Novel

By: Jennifer Acker

Narrated by: Priya Ayyar, Ron Butler

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Chandaria family - emigrants from the Indian enclave of Nairobi - have managed to flourish in America. Premchand, the father, is a doctor who has worked doggedly to grow his practice and give his family security; his wife, Urmila, runs a business importing artisanal Kenyan crafts; and their son, Sunil, after quitting the pre-med track, has gotten accepted to a PhD program in philosophy at Harvard. But the parents have kept a very important secret from Sunil: his cousin, Bimal, is actually his older brother. And when this previously hidden history is revealed by an unforeseen accident, and the entire family is forced to return to Nairobi, Sunil reveals his own well-kept, explosive secret: his Jewish-American girlfriend, who has accompanied him to Kenya, is, in fact, already his wife. 

Spanning four generations and three continents, The Limits of the World illuminates the vast mosaic of cultural divisions and ethical considerations that shape the ways in which we judge one another's actions. A dazzling debut novel - written with rare empathy and insight - it is a powerful depiction of how we prevent ourselves, unwittingly and otherwise, from understanding the people we are closest to.

©2019 Jennifer Acker (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great narrators brought this to life!

The Limits of the World is a book full of complicated, intriguing characters, and I read it quickly because I wanted to see what they would do next. The way the book moves through time, across continents, and between families also kept me reading - we were never in one place for too long, or with one character. I enjoyed all the different voices and sections, and learned a lot (in a fun way!) about the Indian diaspora, about Kenya, and even about life in academia. The way these characters discussed marriage, family, money, and homeland made me think a lot about how I value those things, too. Highly recommend the audiobook, which had great narrators that did a good job differentiating the character's narration. A wonderful read and a book I will read again!

Dud

I kept waiting and reading for something to happen and it fell flat. The female narration was exhaustingly bad. The male voice was nice, but hard to understand. The book is lacking.

Boring story

I wanted to live this book because the premise is fascinating, but unfortunately, it was just so boring I can’t force myself to complete it.