Every Happiness

by Reena Shah

Every Happiness is a dazzling debut that explores the ties that bind two women across decades and continents despite rivalry, class difference, and the conflicting needs of family and self.

Deepa and Ruchi are 12 years old when they meet at their Catholic school in India, but their connection is swift and lasting. As the two girls grow up and face their families' expectations and the limits of their ambitions, their friendship is marked by intimacy, jealousy, and suppressed desire.

When, in their twenties, Deepa marries a doctor and moves from India to the suburbs of Connecticut, Ruchi quickly finds an engineer bound for the same state and follows her friend across the world. But life in the United States is different than either woman expects. Deepa's daughter seeks affection Deepa refuses to give, and Ruchi's son resists her smothering care. At the same time, Deepa and Ruchi find their closeness tested by a growing class disparity, competing family needs, and the differences in their desires. Ultimately, when Ruchi discovers a dangerous secret about Deepa's husband's wealth, both women are forced to weigh the tangled bonds of their friendship with their lives, and their families', in the burgeoning Indian American community.

“Moving and unforgettable” (Kimberly King Parsons), Every Happiness explores the slippery edges of a lifelong relationship, and the invisible threads that bind us, sometimes painfully, to those we love most.

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Contemporary, Adult, Immigration, Friendship

320 pages, Hardcover

First published February 3, 2026

About the author

Reena Shah is a writer, editor, and teacher. Her work has been featured in the Masters Review, Electric Literature, Joyland, BBC, the American Prospect, National Geographic, and the Guardian, among other publications. She has been awarded fellowships and residencies from the Martha Heasley Cox Center for Steinbeck Studies, Millay Arts, Tin House, Sustainable Arts Foundation, Cuttyhunk Island Residency, and the Fulbright Foundation. She received an MFA in fiction from the Michener Center for Writers, where she won the Keene Prize for Literature. For many years she was a kathak dancer in New York and India. She now lives on Roosevelt Island, NY with her family and teaches in a public school.

Reviews

[rakshita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came upon an ad on instagram for this book and decided to read it on a whim. This was the best decision I could have made. This author is talented and writes characters that feel real and have realistic flaws - the book makes you think critically about the cost of immigration and hiding parts of yourself. Maybe it’s because I am Indian and grew up in Connecticut but I really felt like the representation in this book of queer Desi love was super realistic. I never usually cry at books but I did at the end of this one. I never update goodreads anymore but I had to after some reviews said this book was too sad or the characters were too annoying. Do you think repressing your sexuality for 50+ years leads to a personality that is well-adjusted? Readers deserve books that explore real consequences of social stigma - this book delivers. I wish all Indian-American writers treated stories of immigration and adaptation to American culture with the clear care and attention this author did.

[Ashley Schober · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book kind of unbearable to get through. Every single character was miserable and honestly not very likeable. I didn’t find myself rooting for anyone. The writing was solid, I just did not care about any character in this book :/

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about this novel back in December when Reena Shah's publicist wrote to me about having her on my show.

At first I was reluctant: given the title and the gorgeous cover, I thought the novel might be a bit light and fluffy for my tastes, but no. I soon came to realize the title, EVERY HAPPINESS, is ironic: the characters, Deepa and Ruchi, would love every happiness to come to them, just like every other human being on the planet, but happiness for these characters doesn't quite click in. They have their problems.

The book is epic. It covers something like sixty years of their lives, from meeting as Catholic schoolgirls in India to their life in the U.S.

It's been weeks since I read EVERY HAPPINESS and I'm still thinking about it. (Too often I forget about books and what happened days after I read them.)

Yesterday I interviewed the author for Writers on Writing, and will air the show in the next couple of weeks. I loved talking to Reena Shah about the book and about craft. I hope you'll listen. You can find Writers on Writing wherever you consume your podcasts.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m feeling generous with a two. I appreciate that Indian culture led these characters to do certain things, but I felt like it was a competition on who could be the most shallow and deplorable of the characters and they were in a dead heat throughout the book.

[Susan Fichandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well . I did like this book but found it very sad . Writing reviews is hard . I liked the characters but was frustrated that the author didn’t spend more time letting us get to know any of them more deeply .

[Deborah D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every Happiness seems to be a misnomer as the characters are just the opposite: sad, depressed, and unhappy.

Two schoolmates from India reunite in Connecticut. One seemingly has all of the trappings of wealth, yet is a cold character who on occasion, pities her peer. The other, well, she is seeking happiness.

Complimentary copy via LibrosFm.

[Patricia Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It is the kind of book that keeps you engaged with the characters’ journeys on every page The prose is so detailed and precise that it took me back to memories of my childhood, friendships, family obligations and more. To only see the sadness in each woman is to miss the beauty and frightfulness of their deep love. I’m reading it for a second time. One reading falls short of all to glean about the power of crossing cultures and the greater power of touch—felt and unfelt

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars

[Taylor Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

i saw someone else review this by saying that it was “very bleak but very realistic” and I think that’s the perfect way to sum up this book. every character had real flaws and the life they lived as first generation immigrant families navigating identity, culture and success was very honest. however, everything was depicted pretty negatively overall, making it less enjoyable to read to be completely honest

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the writing in this novel is solid, I wish the characters would have been more likable, especially Deepa. I cared about Ruchi and her fate, but it was hard to care about the other characters when they were so selfish and judgemental. I understand that Deepa was bitter because she couldn't live as she wanted, but it was hard to see how she took her resentment out on others, especially on Ruchi, whom she loved and desired, but kept pushing away out of shame. I found this book sadly realistic, and just too depressing.

[Paula W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing, Reena Shah (author), Edelweiss, and Libro.fm for providing an advance digital review copy and advance listening copy of Every Happiness (narrated by Deepa Samuel). Their generosity did not influence my review in any way.

Every Happiness is a story focusing on a lifelong relationship between Deepa and Ruchi. They met at Catholic school in India at 12 years old and immediately connected. They grew up and got married, one to a doctor and one to an engineer, and made their separate ways across the world to the US. They each dealt with the issues of being immigrants, raising first-generation Indian American children, class disparities, jealousy, loveless semi-arranged marriages, power struggles, and their own confusing, complex feelings toward each other over the years.

I enjoyed the book, though neither Deepa nor Ruchi are good likable people. There was nothing to root for here, except hoping their kids can get therapy and turn out okay. There is no big drama; it’s a story of people growing up and changing. Sometimes those changes are accepted and sometimes they aren’t. Sometimes people answer your calls and sometimes they don’t. Sometimes you know the reason why and sometimes you don’t.

I think book clubs might have a lot to talk about here. Class disparities, destructive parenting styles, defrauding the government for good reasons vs. bad reasons, etc. For people who like action books, this one won’t be for you. But there are some interesting character studies that can be done. For the audiobook, Deepa Samuel does a great job and I really enjoyed her narration. 3.75 stars

[Kazuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve long been a lurker on Goodreads, but finally bit the bullet and created an account because I read an advance copy of Every Happiness and absolutely loved it — and was honestly dismayed to see some of the overly reductive critiques when I looked it up to see what kind of reception it was getting ahead of release.

What struck me most is how real these characters feel. They are not unlikeable — they are people: flawed, contradictory, yearning, and all the more compelling for it. Deepa and Ruchi’s friendship is messy, deep, tender, and sometimes prickly, because it mirrors the knots we all carry in our closest relationships. Shah doesn’t soften their humanity or give easy answers; instead she lets their choices, regrets, and desires unfold with unflinching precision.

This is a novel that makes you sit with discomfort and tenderness at the same time: the jealousy that can live inside love, the class divides that shape even intimate bonds, and the quiet ways we hurt the people we care about most. Every Happiness gives its characters room to breathe, to err, and to be fiercely themselves — and that’s what makes their story linger long after the last page.

The prose is clear and thoughtful, the emotional landscape rich, and the cultural texture — spanning decades and continents — woven with nuance. I found myself thinking about these women long after finishing, seeing in them parts of myself and of the people I’ve known. If you’re open to a story that portrays friendship and family with complexity and depth, this book will stay with you. Highly recommended.

[Esosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars*

A complicated, layered story of friendship, love, and sacrifice, Every Happiness follows two women, Deepa and Ruchi, across decades, from when they first meet at age twelve in a Catholic school in India to their adult lives in the U.S.

Complicated because while these two grow up side by side—dreaming together, planning together, strategizing their escape from life in India and toward a future in America—there’s always something simmering underneath. An unspoken competition. A quiet jealousy. A constant need to prove who’s doing better, who made the “right” choices, especially from Deepa’s perspective.

As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that this is also a novel deeply concerned with choice: the choices we believe we have versus the ones we don’t, the selfishness that can sometimes hide beneath the guise of sacrifice and love, and the familiar disconnect between immigrant parents and the children who grow up in the countries they move to. There’s also a heavy focus on the pressure we place on ourselves: how we measure success, how we show up in our communities, and how much of our identity becomes wrapped up in comparison.

This is a good story with a lot of layers. The characters are deeply flawed and often unlikeable but intentionally so. Their messiness, contradictions, and poor decisions are what make the story feel real, complicated, and ultimately human.

Thank you to Libro fm for the advanced listening copy!

[Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruchi and Deepa meet as children at school in India. They forge a bond, held together by a secret they witness. When Deepa marries and moves to the U.S., Ruchi soon follows. Their lives intertwine through decades. As each deals with the challenges of immigrating and raising children, they find themselves growing apart, coming back together, having opinions on the other's life, doing favors for each other, but never forgetting. They love each other.

So much sadness drenches these pages. Ruchi, in particular, seems like she can't get ahead. While she watches Deepa seemingly live the dream. But Deepa has doubts about her life. She wants freedom. Ruchi also wants freedom. Both hide from their husbands.

I found the women's relationships with their children the most intriguing. While Ruchi smothers her son and he responds by trying to control what he can. I appreciated the representation of a boy with an eating disorder, though it was difficult for me to read. Deepa practically ignores her daughter, even though they're alike. While her daughter lives freely, Deepa will not take that success as a way to finally be with who she wants. Their relationships highlight how difficult it is to parent, especially in a new country.

The husbands were not very well developed, but that seems purposeful. They are background characters, mostly serving as ways to complicate Ruchi and Deepa's relationship on multiple levels.

[Winthrop Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Happiness is an amazing debut novel that tells the story of a lifelong relationship between two women who immigrate to Connecticut from India and spans roughly fifty years. The two friends maintain a difficult friendship with each other and with their own abilities to face their sexual identities. It's a relationship that is framed (or restrained) by and within the wider social, cultural, and financial circumstances of their lives—from trivial to nearly insurmountable—that ultimately hinder any actualization of love or happiness.

While there are a number of identities at conflict, both characters are framed by three main identities, which they handle with varying strategies and levels of success. The first is as a wife, as both are obligated to marry as a patriarchal precondition to any opportunity in life. The second is as Indian immigrants in America. This is the main focus of the novel, and within this identity the characters navigate class, religion, economics, and nationalism (and food). The last identity is as mothers to their children. Their relationships to their husbands and children (each with one child) frame their repressed sexual identity. Deepa, the more assimilated and affluent, seemingly enjoys the trappings of golden handcuffs, while Ruchi is resistant, poor, and struggling for independence. As mothers, Deepa is inattentive, essentially in denial of even expressing love to her child (who is gay), while Ruchi's son is a scarred loner. In this sense, the husbands play the role of societal restrictions/constraints, and the children represent their own personal projections.

Ultimately, spoiler alert, this is a sad story of unfulfilled possibilities. In one sense, one can understand the desire for some kind of heroism that leads to a happy ending, but the novel resists the neatness of that type of resolution, which makes it all the more compelling. Yes, it does leave you sad; in doing so, maybe it also speaks to the need to act heroically, and for that there is optimism.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

a lot of interesting themes here — reputation, responsibility to family, immigration & the american dream, class divide, sapphic yearning (see: the too-close, slightly toxic, definitely homoerotic friendship many teen girls become embroiled in, especially at all girls/boarding schools), body image

if that sounds like a lot to explore (well), i fear that’s because it was :/ there was simultaneously so much here & not enough? i didn’t feel like the author introduced a lot without giving a substantial amount to really chew on— whether that was the plot or the characters themselves

the prose itself was decent & the characters’ depth (except the husbands/fathers tbh) was probably the highlight, especially when it came to their relationships with one another & all the complex feelings that come with loving someone who struggles to show their love in healthy ways. but unfortunately, the characters were all so unlikable to me that i was slogging through (& none of them reeeeeally had any satisfying development??)

meh! bummer!

[Phyllis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book and was so stunned that not even a whispered "wow" came out. I had to sit in silence to gather myself beyond the amazement I felt. What a book! It's as if I was brought into a riveting yet disturbing parallel world that has always been there, and I didn't even know. We know so little about even our best friends and how they can betray us even though it so damages their own lives. We know so little about what family loyalty costs us, and this book makes me think that most of us are like one daughter's recognition that she is a "coward who lied out of love." I didn't like either of the main characters, and yet I kept trying to understand their attraction. All the characters, especially with the language of their eyes, were compelling, often exasperating--even down to the office women in billing! For me, the book was eye-opening about Indian American culture and community, and that was part of its magic. Great first novel!

[TBS · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing narrative about an unlikely friendship between Deepa and Ruchi, 12 year old girls at a Catholic school in India that spans decades, families, continents, social standing, spouses, scandals, and children. At its core, within the deftly delineated settings, is the question of how well we can ever know another person, even one with which we have experienced rites of passage, public and private. Does someone that shares our late childhood also share a part of ourselves? Shah writes with ease and deep understanding about the dialog and desires of her characters, the small hurts, triumphs, resentments and erratic love they have for each other.
Recommended

[Siva Ramakrishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put down this gorgeously written, insistently human novel. The two women at the center of the story grab at your heart from the get-go. They are each scrappy and vulnerable in their own way, and their friendship and unsaid desire for each other take different shapes as they navigate increasingly complicated lives that they only partially chose. This novel is a love letter to all the Indians who immigrated to the U.S. in the 70's - the audacity of leaving everything they knew to make lives in places like Connecticut, making sense of lawns and department stores, gossiping all the while about each other.

[Parul Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Happiness is the kind of novel that sits with you, and you find yourself reflecting on the characters long after the novel is finished. I commend the author for sharing Ruchi in such a raw and authentic way, where her anguish feels unfiltered and deeply felt. This is not a light novel, but one that delves deeper into the complexities and sometimes contradictions of relationships. There is no complete closure, leaving you wanting more. Beautifully shared, Shah tells a complicated story of friendship and longing that is painfully honest.

[Katie Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will get swept away by Deepa and Ruchi and all of their flaws that make them human. Reena Shah is a beautiful writer and storyteller who embraces the complicated nature of love, family, and friendship and all of the joys and heartaches that go along with it. Every Happiness left me hanging on every word and wanting to hug each of the characters. This is one of my favorite books I've read recently!

[T W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was devastating and the actions of the characters were so painfully human. I will probably be thinking of Deepa and Ruchi for a while. All the opportunities they had to speak truth but didn’t. How time eventually runs out. How their decision to keep their desires unrealized affected everyone around them. I look forward to what Shah may write in the future. I was captivated the entire time and raced through this.

[Kevin Brophy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Happiness is thoughtful, grounded, and genuinely moving. Reena Shah explores relationships, grief, and personal growth in a way that feels honest instead of overdone. The characters feel real, with quiet moments that land naturally. It’s not flashy, but it has depth, and it made me reflect on how happiness can exist alongside pain. A solid, meaningful read that feels true to life.

[Sarita Subramaniam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did this one on audio. Enjoyed the narrator but the story was too bleak and depressing and the characters were all too unlikeable. I don’t mind unlikeable characters but there has to be something intriguing or interesting and I did not find that. The husband characters were not at all developed.

[Laurie Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book very bleak and also I think realistic.

[Po Bhattacharyya · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Every Happiness" is about female friendship, emotional repression, geography and betrayal and devotion and time. Elena Ferrante meets desi queer desire. Loved it!

[Mitra Feldman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reena Shah is a beautiful writer. I have read some of her short stories in the past and was so excited to be able to get absorbed in a full novel!

[Perrine Langford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down, simply a brilliant first novel!

[Lauren Stroud · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deepa and Ruchi have been friends for practically as long as they can remember. Growing up in India, they bonded as adolescents and were never able to escape each other.

The women both married Indian men and ended up in Connecticut, perpetually in search of the American dream. Fraught with envy, desire, hope and heartbreak, this story tells the tale of decades of friendship. While Deepa and Ruchi float in and out of each others’ lives, they each remain a powerful, influential presence for the other.

I thought the audio of this book was really well done, and I believe the story was more impactful hearing so many of the names and Indian words spoken as they were intended. I felt like this one was real and raw and so very relatable as a woman.

Is there a friend who’s been in your life for as long as you can remember?

[shloka · Rating 4 out of 5]

title of the book is every happiness but nobody is happy…