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Da
This is a story of love between a father and a son.
Inquisitive 13-year-old Ved’s entire universe is his adoptive father, Da. From cooking him the perfect biryani, to helping him navigate his first school dance and his first girlfriend, Da lets Ved be himself.
Fiercely loving and fiercely protective, their relationship harbours a secret that could destroy them both: Da is gay at a time when Section 377, a colonial law, makes homosexuality a crime. Beyond the law, vigilante gangs prowl the shadows, targeting those they deem ‘unnatural’ as Da and Ved’s happy existence grows ever more fragile.
Set in an Indian metropolis in 2013, Da is a tender story of a boy caught between devotion and fear, chronicling the everyday courage it takes to love someone the world refuses to accept.
'A beautifully cut gem of a novel. Ved’s unforgettable voice makes this story come to life in so many funny, moving and unexpected ways.’ - Mahesh Rao, Author of 'Half Light'
Inquisitive 13-year-old Ved’s entire universe is his adoptive father, Da. From cooking him the perfect biryani, to helping him navigate his first school dance and his first girlfriend, Da lets Ved be himself.
Fiercely loving and fiercely protective, their relationship harbours a secret that could destroy them both: Da is gay at a time when Section 377, a colonial law, makes homosexuality a crime. Beyond the law, vigilante gangs prowl the shadows, targeting those they deem ‘unnatural’ as Da and Ved’s happy existence grows ever more fragile.
Set in an Indian metropolis in 2013, Da is a tender story of a boy caught between devotion and fear, chronicling the everyday courage it takes to love someone the world refuses to accept.
'A beautifully cut gem of a novel. Ved’s unforgettable voice makes this story come to life in so many funny, moving and unexpected ways.’ - Mahesh Rao, Author of 'Half Light'
- GenresQueer
194 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2026
About the author
Arathi Menon
7 books20 followersArathi Menon is an author and columnist based in London. Her debut literary fiction novel was published by Fly on the Wall Press, UK and Picador, India. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) at the University of East Anglia. Her debut book, a memoir titled Leaving Home with Half a Fridge, was published by Pan Macmillan India. Her middle-grade mystery novel, A Thud in the Middle of the Night, was brought out by DC Books, Kerala, and later published by Yali Books, New York, under the title A Mystery at Lili Villa.
Her awards include the SI Leeds Literary Prize and Novel London. She has also been on numerous shortlists and longlists, including the BPA First Novel Award, Cinnamon Literary Award, Virginia Prize for Fiction, UA 100X100, FAB Prize, Ivan Juritz Prize and the Penguin WriteNow programme. She was part of a spoken word group installation at Tate Modern, London. You can find her on Instagram on https://www.instagram.com/arathimenon...
Her awards include the SI Leeds Literary Prize and Novel London. She has also been on numerous shortlists and longlists, including the BPA First Novel Award, Cinnamon Literary Award, Virginia Prize for Fiction, UA 100X100, FAB Prize, Ivan Juritz Prize and the Penguin WriteNow programme. She was part of a spoken word group installation at Tate Modern, London. You can find her on Instagram on https://www.instagram.com/arathimenon...
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 19, 2026
Heartbreakingly beautiful. Will likely never recover
June 21, 2026
Do not read this book unless you are prepared to ruin your life. I have never cried like that before.
September 18, 2026
I am devastated. Why does this book only have 80 reviews. I have never read anything like this.
July 15, 2026
A beautiful, important, but also heartbreaking story 💔 Seeing everything through the eyes of a 13-year old boy really gives the story an interesting perspective, which I really liked
September 5, 2026
I enjoyed this novel.
Find my review on Scroll India:
https://scroll.in/article/1094677/da-...
Find my review on Scroll India:
https://scroll.in/article/1094677/da-...
July 23, 2026
Da follows thirteen-year-old Ved, who is raised by his uncle and legal guardian after the death of his mother. Narrated entirely through Ved’s perspective, the novel captures the bewilderment of adolescence as he begins to question his family history, identity, and the moral certainties of the world around him. His innocence never translates into simplicity; instead, it becomes the lens through which larger questions of grief, love, and belonging are explored.
At its core, Da is a coming-of-age novel about chosen family, sexuality, prejudice, and the quiet ways in which children inherit the emotional lives of the adults around them. One of the novel’s greatest achievements is its ability to inhabit the consciousness of a thirteen-year-old with remarkable precision. Ved is observant without seeming precocious, and his attempts to make sense of what remains unspoken often become the book’s most affecting moments.
Equally compelling is the relationship between Ved and Da. Their bond is built on honesty, trust, and an unusual degree of emotional freedom, offering a poignant contrast to the family dynamics that shaped Da himself. Through this relationship, the novel becomes as much about breaking inherited cycles as it is about growing up.
The strength of Da lies in its observations. Aarti Menon writes childhood with extraordinary sensitivity, capturing its curiosity, contradictions, and emotional intensity without romanticising it. Ved always feels like a child first and a narrative device second, which lends the novel its emotional authenticity. The social climate surrounding homosexuality is also rendered convincingly through the limited but deeply revealing perspective of a young boy trying to understand a world that already seems to have made up its mind.
Where the novel falters, for me, is in the narrowness of its world. It leans heavily into despair, presenting hostility with great conviction but offering little sense of the communities, solidarities, or forms of resistance that also existed. As a result, the emotional landscape occasionally feels more absolute than nuanced.
A few secondary characters, particularly those who appear central to Ved’s emotional world, remain underdeveloped despite their significance. I also felt that the novel’s observational sharpness softened in its closing sections, where Ved’s distinctive narrative voice loses some of the clarity that had sustained the story until then.
Read purely as a character study, Da is deeply affecting. It captures the emotional logic of adolescence with remarkable honesty, where private fears assume the scale of the world itself. My reservations lie not with Ved’s journey but with the novel’s broader world-building, which I found less expansive than its central relationship deserved. Even so, it remains an empathetic and beautifully observed portrait of childhood shaped by love, silence, and social prejudice.
At its core, Da is a coming-of-age novel about chosen family, sexuality, prejudice, and the quiet ways in which children inherit the emotional lives of the adults around them. One of the novel’s greatest achievements is its ability to inhabit the consciousness of a thirteen-year-old with remarkable precision. Ved is observant without seeming precocious, and his attempts to make sense of what remains unspoken often become the book’s most affecting moments.
Equally compelling is the relationship between Ved and Da. Their bond is built on honesty, trust, and an unusual degree of emotional freedom, offering a poignant contrast to the family dynamics that shaped Da himself. Through this relationship, the novel becomes as much about breaking inherited cycles as it is about growing up.
The strength of Da lies in its observations. Aarti Menon writes childhood with extraordinary sensitivity, capturing its curiosity, contradictions, and emotional intensity without romanticising it. Ved always feels like a child first and a narrative device second, which lends the novel its emotional authenticity. The social climate surrounding homosexuality is also rendered convincingly through the limited but deeply revealing perspective of a young boy trying to understand a world that already seems to have made up its mind.
Where the novel falters, for me, is in the narrowness of its world. It leans heavily into despair, presenting hostility with great conviction but offering little sense of the communities, solidarities, or forms of resistance that also existed. As a result, the emotional landscape occasionally feels more absolute than nuanced.
A few secondary characters, particularly those who appear central to Ved’s emotional world, remain underdeveloped despite their significance. I also felt that the novel’s observational sharpness softened in its closing sections, where Ved’s distinctive narrative voice loses some of the clarity that had sustained the story until then.
Read purely as a character study, Da is deeply affecting. It captures the emotional logic of adolescence with remarkable honesty, where private fears assume the scale of the world itself. My reservations lie not with Ved’s journey but with the novel’s broader world-building, which I found less expansive than its central relationship deserved. Even so, it remains an empathetic and beautifully observed portrait of childhood shaped by love, silence, and social prejudice.
September 20, 2026
My rating is 4.5.
When you’re thirteen-years-old, you find yourself in a liminal space. You’re not a child anymore but you’re not an adult either. You’re a newborn teenager, which means you’re not a full teenager yet either. You are old enough to notice that adults keep things from you, but not always old enough to understand why. And so you fill in a lot of gaps yourself. Arathi Menon portrays this terribly confusing but acutely perceptive world through Ved in her novel ‘Da’.
Ved is 13 and lives with his uncle whom he calls Da. His mother died in childbirth. “She had a choice and could have saved her life but she insisted on keeping me alive…” Ved tells us. Ved’s universe is not too big. Apart from Da, there’s Alok, Da’s best friend. Later, his boyfriend, Vamsi, joins in for a short while as does Siya, a girl Ved is attracted to. The story starts off with these handful of people on an even keel with enough lightheartedness. There’s a good balance between Da’s adult life and ensuing anxieties, and Ved’s sometimes-mature-mostly-humorous thoughts. But the story is set in 2013, and Section 377 is a shadowy presence in the household. It was the year the Supreme Court upheld an ancient law criminalising same-sex relations, and this verdict impacts Da’s relationship with Vamsi. Ved finds himself in a whirlpool of emotions and events, which he is unable to fully comprehend.
Menon’s choice to voice the story entirely through Ved’s perspective is a clever device. It is, perhaps, the only way this novel could have addressed all the things it does without spiralling into the depths of darkness. Ved doesn’t have the language or the maturity to explain everything happening around him, and that’s precisely what makes his observations so affecting. It provides that necessary tenderness for such thorny subjects.
We also only know Da as Ved knows him. A man who lives fiercely, on his own terms. We know his passions (cooking), what he dislikes (lies), and how he has been forced to build an isolated life due to social biases. These are parts that don’t form a whole since we never hear from the man himself but it’s the best way to know him for the purpose of the story.
The relationship between Ved and Da is tender and real. As with any parent-child relationship theirs too have moments of misunderstanding, annoyance, and frustration alongside the undeniable love. Ved is not just an adoring child, and Da is also not an endlessly patient parent. He also does not have a family to fall back on for any emotional support. This is one of the many ways Menon chooses to show how stigma reaches far beyond the person who directly faces its heat. For Ved, this translates into a deeper exploration of his feelings, sexuality, and identity as he endlessly wonders if he is gay or straight, if what he feels is really love, and so on.
Apart from the portrayal of his sexuality, which I felt was a little too on the nose, Menon carries forth a plethora of heavy topics with great elegance. Her portrayal of Ved’s mercurial mind where he is impossibly wise and understanding in one moment and completely childish the next is so spot on. So we deal with loss, prejudice, shame, accepted ideas of family, and everything else that’s thrown at Ved due to circumstance in the same manner - we understand it sometimes and but many times we don’t. Isn’t that how we adults do it too?
And perhaps that is what makes the novel speak to us so deeply. Menon writes in a deceptively simple way but what she addresses is intense and profound.
This is a heartbreaking read and a book to be read. For all the ones out there trying to live lives their own way.
When you’re thirteen-years-old, you find yourself in a liminal space. You’re not a child anymore but you’re not an adult either. You’re a newborn teenager, which means you’re not a full teenager yet either. You are old enough to notice that adults keep things from you, but not always old enough to understand why. And so you fill in a lot of gaps yourself. Arathi Menon portrays this terribly confusing but acutely perceptive world through Ved in her novel ‘Da’.
Ved is 13 and lives with his uncle whom he calls Da. His mother died in childbirth. “She had a choice and could have saved her life but she insisted on keeping me alive…” Ved tells us. Ved’s universe is not too big. Apart from Da, there’s Alok, Da’s best friend. Later, his boyfriend, Vamsi, joins in for a short while as does Siya, a girl Ved is attracted to. The story starts off with these handful of people on an even keel with enough lightheartedness. There’s a good balance between Da’s adult life and ensuing anxieties, and Ved’s sometimes-mature-mostly-humorous thoughts. But the story is set in 2013, and Section 377 is a shadowy presence in the household. It was the year the Supreme Court upheld an ancient law criminalising same-sex relations, and this verdict impacts Da’s relationship with Vamsi. Ved finds himself in a whirlpool of emotions and events, which he is unable to fully comprehend.
Menon’s choice to voice the story entirely through Ved’s perspective is a clever device. It is, perhaps, the only way this novel could have addressed all the things it does without spiralling into the depths of darkness. Ved doesn’t have the language or the maturity to explain everything happening around him, and that’s precisely what makes his observations so affecting. It provides that necessary tenderness for such thorny subjects.
We also only know Da as Ved knows him. A man who lives fiercely, on his own terms. We know his passions (cooking), what he dislikes (lies), and how he has been forced to build an isolated life due to social biases. These are parts that don’t form a whole since we never hear from the man himself but it’s the best way to know him for the purpose of the story.
The relationship between Ved and Da is tender and real. As with any parent-child relationship theirs too have moments of misunderstanding, annoyance, and frustration alongside the undeniable love. Ved is not just an adoring child, and Da is also not an endlessly patient parent. He also does not have a family to fall back on for any emotional support. This is one of the many ways Menon chooses to show how stigma reaches far beyond the person who directly faces its heat. For Ved, this translates into a deeper exploration of his feelings, sexuality, and identity as he endlessly wonders if he is gay or straight, if what he feels is really love, and so on.
Apart from the portrayal of his sexuality, which I felt was a little too on the nose, Menon carries forth a plethora of heavy topics with great elegance. Her portrayal of Ved’s mercurial mind where he is impossibly wise and understanding in one moment and completely childish the next is so spot on. So we deal with loss, prejudice, shame, accepted ideas of family, and everything else that’s thrown at Ved due to circumstance in the same manner - we understand it sometimes and but many times we don’t. Isn’t that how we adults do it too?
And perhaps that is what makes the novel speak to us so deeply. Menon writes in a deceptively simple way but what she addresses is intense and profound.
This is a heartbreaking read and a book to be read. For all the ones out there trying to live lives their own way.
June 2, 2026
It has been a long time since I cried this much over a book.
This moving coming-of-age tale follows 13-year-old Ved, a boy living in India with his adoptive father, Da, during a time where an old colonial law means that it is illegal to be gay. Through Ved, we explore what it means to explore your own identity and sexuality while being raised by a loved one who has to hide theirs.
The writing was earnest and convincing; it really struck me how important it is to have great communication with your children, especially at such a pivotal age in their lives. The way Ved processed things was sometimes sad, other times funny, and occasionally I felt annoyed with Da for the way he would act. But as the story deepens, we start to see just how much Da has to live with and we are reminded that he is a parent doing life for the first time too.
The love and devotion between father and son was touching, especially with everything they had to face. The author really drove home what stigma means, not just for those being stigmatised, but for loved ones and wider communities as well. I was absolutely heartbroken. Have tissues at the ready!
A poignant and compelling read.
This moving coming-of-age tale follows 13-year-old Ved, a boy living in India with his adoptive father, Da, during a time where an old colonial law means that it is illegal to be gay. Through Ved, we explore what it means to explore your own identity and sexuality while being raised by a loved one who has to hide theirs.
The writing was earnest and convincing; it really struck me how important it is to have great communication with your children, especially at such a pivotal age in their lives. The way Ved processed things was sometimes sad, other times funny, and occasionally I felt annoyed with Da for the way he would act. But as the story deepens, we start to see just how much Da has to live with and we are reminded that he is a parent doing life for the first time too.
The love and devotion between father and son was touching, especially with everything they had to face. The author really drove home what stigma means, not just for those being stigmatised, but for loved ones and wider communities as well. I was absolutely heartbroken. Have tissues at the ready!
A poignant and compelling read.
August 4, 2026
Truly devastating; perfectly encapsulates the confusion experienced by a 13 year-old boy whilst also capturing the love and devotion Ved has for Da. The book starts off humorous but then this snowball effect of events challenges the relationship between the two. I have never cried so much whilst reading a book. Nevertheless, as the author describes, ‘isn’t the resilience of love in the face of intolerance a beautiful thing?’
July 7, 2026
Loved this. Not to long, read it in a day. Very interesting perspective to take on the story, with a beautiful bittersweet message.
July 11, 2026
Soooooo beautiful and horrible
July 28, 2026
Big fat sad
September 18, 2026
sobbing
June 26, 2026
I’m in bits
August 3, 2026
Really enjoyed!! Such a convincing narrator it's hard to believe the author isn't a 13yo boy
June 22, 2026
So sad :(
When the book dedication is for “anyone who has suffered for love” you know you’re in for heartbreak. Despite that, the writing and the nuanced look at past South Asian culture and sexuality was really powerful.
When the book dedication is for “anyone who has suffered for love” you know you’re in for heartbreak. Despite that, the writing and the nuanced look at past South Asian culture and sexuality was really powerful.
June 24, 2026
3.5
Overall, it was a moving read, and at times it felt as if Menon took my personality and experiences and distributed them among the central characters. Nonetheless, I do think there were a few issues. The narration, especially at the beginning, felt quite metaphor-heavy, at once attempting to replicate a child's way of relating to the world but not committing to extending many of them (except for a few motifs). While they are soon a bit more paced out, I do wish there were better hints of increasing maturity in thinking.
My main gripe, however, is the almost isolationist treatment of Ved and the titular Da, which feels a bit amiss for 2013 India. While yep, homosexuality was illegal, by then there were many active groups and organisations pushing for LGBT+ rights and forming communities. Such a community is hinted at, but kept at a significant distance, with even Alok disappearing for most of the middle chunk of the novel, only to reappear at the end. It's as if Menon could not handle having more than two gay men within a section for too long without exploding. Had the characters been placed within a town or rural area, perhaps I would have been slightly more understanding (though the supposed conservative nature of such zones is much more fluid than commonly believed), but a metropolis? No way.
One could argue my criticism ignores that the lens is that of a child experiencing a coming-of-age, but in many ways, this coming-of-age is not entirely willing to truly examine what it means to be raised by a gay man at the time Section 377 was active. Also, it feels like Menon did her research to get her facts, but fails to account for the gap between legislation and its implementation, almost producing trauma porn at certain times. Consequently, this treatment seeps into the relationship between father and son. While there exists a cultural reticence between parents and children in India, it feels odd and unnecessarily stretched out here, given how the characters are shaped. Perhaps the text seeks to point to such contradictions, and there seem to be hints towards the closing, yet it does not do enough.
Nonetheless, the text attempts to examine dynamics underexplored within South Asian literature, and even if it is not successful in going beyond the tropes and dynamics that it draws on, it is still a worthwhile read.
Overall, it was a moving read, and at times it felt as if Menon took my personality and experiences and distributed them among the central characters. Nonetheless, I do think there were a few issues. The narration, especially at the beginning, felt quite metaphor-heavy, at once attempting to replicate a child's way of relating to the world but not committing to extending many of them (except for a few motifs). While they are soon a bit more paced out, I do wish there were better hints of increasing maturity in thinking.
My main gripe, however, is the almost isolationist treatment of Ved and the titular Da, which feels a bit amiss for 2013 India. While yep, homosexuality was illegal, by then there were many active groups and organisations pushing for LGBT+ rights and forming communities. Such a community is hinted at, but kept at a significant distance, with even Alok disappearing for most of the middle chunk of the novel, only to reappear at the end. It's as if Menon could not handle having more than two gay men within a section for too long without exploding. Had the characters been placed within a town or rural area, perhaps I would have been slightly more understanding (though the supposed conservative nature of such zones is much more fluid than commonly believed), but a metropolis? No way.
One could argue my criticism ignores that the lens is that of a child experiencing a coming-of-age, but in many ways, this coming-of-age is not entirely willing to truly examine what it means to be raised by a gay man at the time Section 377 was active. Also, it feels like Menon did her research to get her facts, but fails to account for the gap between legislation and its implementation, almost producing trauma porn at certain times. Consequently, this treatment seeps into the relationship between father and son. While there exists a cultural reticence between parents and children in India, it feels odd and unnecessarily stretched out here, given how the characters are shaped. Perhaps the text seeks to point to such contradictions, and there seem to be hints towards the closing, yet it does not do enough.
Nonetheless, the text attempts to examine dynamics underexplored within South Asian literature, and even if it is not successful in going beyond the tropes and dynamics that it draws on, it is still a worthwhile read.
August 12, 2026
3.5 ⭐️
I hope I never get tired of feeling too many emotions while reading a book. Of sitting down to write a review and realising that the words have escaped me.
Because maybe that’s what has tethered me to reading all these years.
I had read the blurb for Da, so I knew the themes it would explore. But nothing prepared me for what I felt as I got closer to the end.
Arathi Menon tells the story of thirteen-year-old Ved, who lives with his Da — his mother’s sibling, but in every way that matters, his parent, his father. When Ved discovers that Da is gay, he finds himself navigating a world where homosexuality is criminalised, where suspicion can invite violence, and where a secret can feel like molten lava inside you.
Watching Ved process his feelings was, at times, difficult. It made me think about how much children carry when there isn’t enough communication between them and the adults they trust.
Menon’s writing is effortless and fast-paced, but the emotions linger. They crawl under your skin and refuse to leave.
I slammed the book shut exactly once. It felt justified. I doubt I was the only one who would have done the same.
What stayed with me was the aftermath of prejudice — the scrutiny, violence and shame that people like Ved, Da and Alok are left to navigate because someone else decided what was acceptable.
And I kept thinking about 2018, when Section 377 was struck down. I was too young then to understand what that moment meant. I understand it differently now — the 27-year fight, the lives lost, and the people who spent years living under the weight of someone else’s morality, tradition, or idea of God.
Do they ever stop to think about what their prejudice cost someone else?
Maybe this is a little bit of a rant. But some books make you feel too much to remain quiet.
Da is short, funny, tender and heavy with emotion. A book about family, love and grief; and the many seasons and colours in which grief arrives.
I hope I never get tired of feeling too many emotions while reading a book. Of sitting down to write a review and realising that the words have escaped me.
Because maybe that’s what has tethered me to reading all these years.
I had read the blurb for Da, so I knew the themes it would explore. But nothing prepared me for what I felt as I got closer to the end.
Arathi Menon tells the story of thirteen-year-old Ved, who lives with his Da — his mother’s sibling, but in every way that matters, his parent, his father. When Ved discovers that Da is gay, he finds himself navigating a world where homosexuality is criminalised, where suspicion can invite violence, and where a secret can feel like molten lava inside you.
Watching Ved process his feelings was, at times, difficult. It made me think about how much children carry when there isn’t enough communication between them and the adults they trust.
Menon’s writing is effortless and fast-paced, but the emotions linger. They crawl under your skin and refuse to leave.
I slammed the book shut exactly once. It felt justified. I doubt I was the only one who would have done the same.
What stayed with me was the aftermath of prejudice — the scrutiny, violence and shame that people like Ved, Da and Alok are left to navigate because someone else decided what was acceptable.
And I kept thinking about 2018, when Section 377 was struck down. I was too young then to understand what that moment meant. I understand it differently now — the 27-year fight, the lives lost, and the people who spent years living under the weight of someone else’s morality, tradition, or idea of God.
Do they ever stop to think about what their prejudice cost someone else?
Maybe this is a little bit of a rant. But some books make you feel too much to remain quiet.
Da is short, funny, tender and heavy with emotion. A book about family, love and grief; and the many seasons and colours in which grief arrives.
July 17, 2026
‘He said Mama died giving birth to me. She had a choice and could have saved her life but she insisted on keeping me alive, this baby she would never see…’
Thirteen-year-old Ved discovers that his beloved Da, the man who has raised him, might be in love with another man. This throws Ved into confusion, especially as he's just learned that Da might be harbouring another secret: about the truth behind Ved's mother's death. But Ved remains fiercely protective of his Da. Besides, he has other prevailing concerns: upcoming exams, the demands of his peer group and the girl he is currently crushing on. However, a greater peril threatens Ved's world because this is 2013, when homosexuality is still a crime in India, and forces are at work to snatch Ved away from his Da forever.
Writing from the perspective of a much younger person is never easy; one must walk a constant tightrope between the character's natural naivety and their inner complexity. But given these constraints, AM manages quite well, placing us firmly in Ved's shoes and plunging us into the chaotic life of a teenager, its humour and pathos, where everything is intensely felt and endlessly questioned. The novel compassionately renders Ved's struggles, quirks, joys and desires even as it surges to a hard-hitting finale.
At its core, this is a story deeply concerned with our earnest desire to protect the ones we love. But it is also a timely reminder that the struggle for queer rights still has a long way to go. And with the setback to the fight for marriage equality in 2023 as well as the draconian amendments made to the Transgender Act in 2026, it is our duty to not become complacent about actively defending our hard-won rights.
(3.5 stars rounded up to 4)
Thirteen-year-old Ved discovers that his beloved Da, the man who has raised him, might be in love with another man. This throws Ved into confusion, especially as he's just learned that Da might be harbouring another secret: about the truth behind Ved's mother's death. But Ved remains fiercely protective of his Da. Besides, he has other prevailing concerns: upcoming exams, the demands of his peer group and the girl he is currently crushing on. However, a greater peril threatens Ved's world because this is 2013, when homosexuality is still a crime in India, and forces are at work to snatch Ved away from his Da forever.
Writing from the perspective of a much younger person is never easy; one must walk a constant tightrope between the character's natural naivety and their inner complexity. But given these constraints, AM manages quite well, placing us firmly in Ved's shoes and plunging us into the chaotic life of a teenager, its humour and pathos, where everything is intensely felt and endlessly questioned. The novel compassionately renders Ved's struggles, quirks, joys and desires even as it surges to a hard-hitting finale.
At its core, this is a story deeply concerned with our earnest desire to protect the ones we love. But it is also a timely reminder that the struggle for queer rights still has a long way to go. And with the setback to the fight for marriage equality in 2023 as well as the draconian amendments made to the Transgender Act in 2026, it is our duty to not become complacent about actively defending our hard-won rights.
(3.5 stars rounded up to 4)
August 1, 2026
THIS IS A MASTERPIECE!
A CLASSIC!
A MUST READ.
⚠️ SELF HARM!
Written from the POV of a 13 yr old Ved, a boy. Such a tender age THIRTEEN! His mother passed away after giving birth to him and he lives with his Da (his maternal uncle), who is gay! And at a time when section 377 was not decriminalised. Ved took me back to my teenage years, and omg he is such a sharp and smart kid! His emotional intelligence is 🤌🏻.
The details, the observations, the intimacy with which this story is written had me in awe! How? How did @arathimenonauthor write such small little things that we ourselves ignore with so much precision? REMARKABLE!
The characters are so real and unfiltered. You will be able to visualise everything, map the house, smell the food, feel the thrill of an adventure.. that's how it's written. Like I said A MASTERPIECE!
Such a tragedy that we seldom think about the life and struggles of those who are termed "abnormal" by sick society!!!
It's easy to pass judgements, laugh, make jokes and make insensitive comments. So easy. WHEN YOU'LL READ IT, YOU'LL CHOKE ON TEARS, I SWEAR!
No one should ever have to beg for basic human dignity. No one should suffer just because your idea of normal is skewed.
I am grateful to the author who has written a book like this which can evoke the feeling of empathy in the readers...
BE KIND. ALWAYS BE KIND TO THE OTHERS.
A CLASSIC!
A MUST READ.
⚠️ SELF HARM!
Written from the POV of a 13 yr old Ved, a boy. Such a tender age THIRTEEN! His mother passed away after giving birth to him and he lives with his Da (his maternal uncle), who is gay! And at a time when section 377 was not decriminalised. Ved took me back to my teenage years, and omg he is such a sharp and smart kid! His emotional intelligence is 🤌🏻.
The details, the observations, the intimacy with which this story is written had me in awe! How? How did @arathimenonauthor write such small little things that we ourselves ignore with so much precision? REMARKABLE!
The characters are so real and unfiltered. You will be able to visualise everything, map the house, smell the food, feel the thrill of an adventure.. that's how it's written. Like I said A MASTERPIECE!
Such a tragedy that we seldom think about the life and struggles of those who are termed "abnormal" by sick society!!!
It's easy to pass judgements, laugh, make jokes and make insensitive comments. So easy. WHEN YOU'LL READ IT, YOU'LL CHOKE ON TEARS, I SWEAR!
No one should ever have to beg for basic human dignity. No one should suffer just because your idea of normal is skewed.
I am grateful to the author who has written a book like this which can evoke the feeling of empathy in the readers...
BE KIND. ALWAYS BE KIND TO THE OTHERS.
August 12, 2026
Da starts as a heartwarming story of our main character, Ved and his uncle, whom he calls Da. Da raises Ved as his own son after Ved’s mother passes away at his birth. Da is gay in a country and society that has struggled to accept homosexuality. The relationship between Da and Ved is a sweet one. We read the story from Ved’s perspective, a child’s point of view, which warms the soul. As Ved grows to learn and accept his Da’s sexuality, he also explores his own. The story at this point expands to more than their relationship and shifts to the non-acceptance of homosexuality in Indian society. The story soon becomes heartwrenching.
If I were to rate a book just on the story it is telling, I would rate Da a five-star or more if I could. But a book is also about storytelling. The prose and poetry that elevate the storytelling also make the story come to life … sometimes it becomes bigger than life. I wish the book did better in these aspects. It would have made Da one of my top reads of the year.
If I were to rate a book just on the story it is telling, I would rate Da a five-star or more if I could. But a book is also about storytelling. The prose and poetry that elevate the storytelling also make the story come to life … sometimes it becomes bigger than life. I wish the book did better in these aspects. It would have made Da one of my top reads of the year.
August 20, 2026
This was a good read (pun intended)
The author writes well from a 13-year-old’s perspective, especially the observations, the way he understands the world, and the innocence in trying to make sense of complex situations.
The writing improves a lot after the first 30 pages. It is a short read and I finished it on a flight. The ending felt a bit rushed, but the journey to it was well done. I liked that the book covers difficult moments without making them overly poignant.
There are no obvious tropes, which I appreciated. My favourite part was the bond between the son and father. Their relationship is steady, but it also shows how society can still affect the strongest ties.
Also, I love this Alok character
The author writes well from a 13-year-old’s perspective, especially the observations, the way he understands the world, and the innocence in trying to make sense of complex situations.
The writing improves a lot after the first 30 pages. It is a short read and I finished it on a flight. The ending felt a bit rushed, but the journey to it was well done. I liked that the book covers difficult moments without making them overly poignant.
There are no obvious tropes, which I appreciated. My favourite part was the bond between the son and father. Their relationship is steady, but it also shows how society can still affect the strongest ties.
Also, I love this Alok character
August 24, 2026
Da is a coming of age novel which explores a lot of important social issues in India in the recent past. The narrator is a sympathetic teenage boy. His relationship with his adoptive father (actually his uncle) is moving and lovely. Ved is an anxious boy with a lot to fret about, on top of the usual adolescent concerns his mother died giving birth to him. And then he finds out that his Da is gay, which is illegal at that time. This puts them outside the law and so unable to be protected by it. I knew too little about the legal status of LGBT+ people in India and this novel gave me an understanding, with an emotional understanding due to it being viewed through the lives of Ved and his family and friends.
June 17, 2026
This was both a heart warming and emotionally devastating read, exploring the relationship between Ved and his uncle, the man who cares for him and becomes much more than just an adoptive father, but parent, protector, mentor, and his emotional anchor.
With the point of view always being that of Ved, a thirteen year old boy struggling in that awkward in-between phase of not being a child, and not yet being an adult, the reader is very aware that everything we see is being filtered through his eyes, the author adeptly deploying his voice with authenticity. We as readers know his perception of his world is often selfish and immature, yet at the same time, it is also laden with the man his Da is bringing him up to be. His internal conflict is portrayed with such a searing honesty you cannot help but feel for him.
I was unaware of Indian history as regards the policing of sexual relationships, and didn't realise how it was only recently that the laws criminalising homosexuality had been repealed, but Ved's struggle to reconcile the goodness and love he sees in his Da, with his knowledge that he was gay is one of the real strengths of the story.
I read this book in less than 2 days, which is a testament to what a compelling read it is. Highly recommended.
With the point of view always being that of Ved, a thirteen year old boy struggling in that awkward in-between phase of not being a child, and not yet being an adult, the reader is very aware that everything we see is being filtered through his eyes, the author adeptly deploying his voice with authenticity. We as readers know his perception of his world is often selfish and immature, yet at the same time, it is also laden with the man his Da is bringing him up to be. His internal conflict is portrayed with such a searing honesty you cannot help but feel for him.
I was unaware of Indian history as regards the policing of sexual relationships, and didn't realise how it was only recently that the laws criminalising homosexuality had been repealed, but Ved's struggle to reconcile the goodness and love he sees in his Da, with his knowledge that he was gay is one of the real strengths of the story.
I read this book in less than 2 days, which is a testament to what a compelling read it is. Highly recommended.
June 26, 2026
Da is a rare find. Beautifully written, it completely transported me to another time and place, and tackled some really difficult topics with honesty and heart.
It had me laughing and crying within the same chapter. I became so invested in the characters that they felt like real people, and weeks after finishing the book I still find myself thinking about them.
A truly memorable read that stayed with me long after I turned the final page. If you're looking for a story that will make you feel every emotion, I can't recommend this enough.
It had me laughing and crying within the same chapter. I became so invested in the characters that they felt like real people, and weeks after finishing the book I still find myself thinking about them.
A truly memorable read that stayed with me long after I turned the final page. If you're looking for a story that will make you feel every emotion, I can't recommend this enough.
Review of advance copy received from Author
May 17, 2026Da is a rare kind of book. One that holds tragedy and humour in the same breath without letting either diminish the other. Arathi’s distinctive style has you moved by something deeply sad, and then laughing out loud just a breath later. That lightness doesn’t undercut the emotion and instead makes the harder thoughts easier to process and carry with you as a reader. A beautifully crafted book that feels both personal and universal.
August 16, 2026
Devastatingly beautiful. 🤍
182 pages of a gentle, curious, caring 13-year-old Ved trying to make sense of his fear of losing the Da he adores because of who Da loves.
But more than anything, this is a story about love — the kind that raises you, protects you, gives you courage, and sometimes asks you to understand things much bigger than yourself.
Ved and Da will stay with me for a long time.
I cried. A lot. And I’m so glad I read this.
182 pages of a gentle, curious, caring 13-year-old Ved trying to make sense of his fear of losing the Da he adores because of who Da loves.
But more than anything, this is a story about love — the kind that raises you, protects you, gives you courage, and sometimes asks you to understand things much bigger than yourself.
Ved and Da will stay with me for a long time.
I cried. A lot. And I’m so glad I read this.
September 27, 2026
Read this book as part of a book club. The premise and setting is great - raising a dead sister's child as a gay man in an urban Indian city is a fresh tale and I had excitement about that. However, the characters aren't developed, context and history is missing and the city was an absent character. There was potential to get into the sibling bond here which is always layered. The first person child voice didn't work for me. It felt like an adult's interpretation of a child.
June 23, 2026
I am so glad I picked up this book on a whim after seeing it. This is definitely the best book I have read this year and is in my top 3 of all time.
The relationship of Da and Ved was beautifully written. This book was a rollercoaster of a journey and makes me angry that the world is still like this in certain parts and that the voice of intolerance is still so loud.
The relationship of Da and Ved was beautifully written. This book was a rollercoaster of a journey and makes me angry that the world is still like this in certain parts and that the voice of intolerance is still so loud.
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