Q and A

You tackle several big themes in your book—culture clash, mental illness and its effect on a family, the ways in which tradition dies hard. Do you believe that you have a core subject, and will write through its permutations, as Faulkner did with race, for instance?

It's tempting to lose myself in such a complex subject as the Indian diaspora, especially as the ramifications evolve, but there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio.

What challenges did you face in writing about such...