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296 ratings | 33 reviews | avg rating:4.41

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Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Goodreads Author

Born

Toronto, Canada

Website

http://www.shilpigowda.com

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Contemporary

Member Since

November 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ssgowda

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Shilpi Somaya Gowda is the New York Times bestselling, award-winning author of four novels: Secret Daughter (2010), The Golden Son (2015), The Shape of Family (2020), and A Great Country (2024). Her novels have been translated into over 30 languages, been #1 international bestsellers in several countries and sold more than two million copies worldwide.

Shilpi was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. She spent a college summer as a volunteer in an Indian orphanage, which seeded the idea for her first novel and the transition from a business career to a becoming a writer: Secret Daughter was an IndieNext Great Read, a Target Book Club Pick, an Indigo Heather’s Pick, and an Amnesty International Book Club Pick. It was a finalist for the South A ...more

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Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Blog

Coming soon ... A GREAT COUNTRY

I'm so excited to share this novel with you. A GREAT COUNTRY is different than anything I've written before, and I really had to push myself to delve into some difficult territory. I began wri􀆟ng it in 2021, in the midst of the pandemic and civil strife. There were so many polarized or oversimplified conversations going on around me, and I found myself longing for a more honest and nuanced debate Read more of this blog post »

10 likes · Like • 4 comments • flag

Published on October 31, 2023 13:18

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Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s books

Average rating: 4.0 · 108,043 ratings · 9,187 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Secret Daughter really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 78,408 ratings — published 2010 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Golden Son 4.13 avg rating — 15,397 ratings — published 2015 — 49 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Great Country 3.88 avg rating — 9,280 ratings — published 2024 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Shape of Family 3.81 avg rating — 4,905 ratings — published 2019 — 32 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Last Carnival of August 3.71 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2016	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	secret Daughter 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Secret Daughter: A Novel by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Go Gentle

by Maria Semple

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Middlemarch

by George Eliot

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Jan 13, 2026 10:10PM

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Shilpi’s Recent Updates

Shilpi Gowda is currently reading Go Gentle by Maria Semple	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18 hours, 18 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Go Gentle by Maria Semple. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Go Gentle by Maria Semple <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda finished reading I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
18 hours, 20 min ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda finished reading The Simp: A Novel Without a Hero by Roshan Sethi	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 23, 2026 07:48PM · like
Shilpi Gowda is currently reading I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 22, 2026 10:22AM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I See You've Called in Dead by John Kenney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda finished reading Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II by Elyse Graham (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 22, 2026 10:20AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Book and Dagger by Elyse Graham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda wants to read Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution by Amy Coney Barrett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 22, 2026 10:17AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Listening to the Law by Amy Coney Barrett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Listening to the Law by Amy Coney Barrett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda has read Wreck by Catherine Newman (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 21, 2026 09:41PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wreck by Catherine Newman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wreck by Catherine Newman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda has read Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 15, 2026 11:25PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lake Effect by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda rated a book it was amazing Whistler by Ann Patchett	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 13, 2026 08:26PM · 6 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Whistler by Ann Patchett. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Whistler by Ann Patchett <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Shilpi Gowda finished reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 11, 2026 01:03PM · like

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Quotes by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (?)

“At some point, the family you create is more important than the one you were born into.”
― Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Secret Daughter

67 likes

“Notice if you are holding your breath after inhaling, and if so, what are you afraid of letting go. Or are you holding it after exhaling, and what are you afraid of letting in.”
― shilpi somaya gowda, Secret Daughter

36 likes

“Sometimes, as she has well learned in life, one's actions must precede the emotions one hopes to feel.”
― Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Secret Daughter

30 likes

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