A Life Apart

Alienation. While reading Neel Mukherjee’s debut novel, A Life Apart, I had to keep reminding myself that this book was not written by an older and more experienced writer. The construction of the novel was complicated: the story of a young man in one chapter followed by the story of an old woman in the next chapter, then repeated. Both protagonists have been experiencing life as outsiders, the young man as an Indian in England, and the English woman living in India. Mukherjee presents the depth of their emotions and the totality of their alienation with great skill. Readers who enjoy debut novels and fine literary fiction are those most likely to appreciate this novel. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase A Life Apart from amazon.com.