“Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy (India) 

Review

From a classic plot-driven novel to an unusual collective ‘novel-essay,’ the four shortlisted books for this year’s Summer Reading Group varied greatly in structure, style of writing, and point of view. Our summer readers also noticed a recurrent theme in all four of dreams and their many meanings. At the end of the discussion, when it came time for voting, “Sleeping on Jupiter” was unanimously chosen as Best Summer Read 2016.

“Sleeping on Jupiter” is set in a temple town by the sea and recounts the story of Nomi, a 25-year-old orphan returning to settle some scores with her past. Readers found this plot-driven page-turner a highly emotional story dealing with difficult issues that the author conveys with a lot of restraint. They loved the characterization and especially liked the three older women who they felt lightened the tone. They enjoyed the descriptions of place and the building of suspense. They were a bit frustrated by the ending, which left them wondering what happened to some of the characters.

Synopsis

A train stops at a railway station. A young woman jumps off. She has wild hair, sloppy clothes, a distracted air. She looks Indian, yet she is somehow not. The sudden violence of what happens next leaves the other passengers gasping. The train terminates at Jarmuli, a temple town by the sea… Read more

Nicola’s Summer Reading list 2016

“Sleeping on Jupiter” by Anuradha Roy (India) *
“Tram 83” by Fiston Mwanza Mujila (Democratic Republic of Congo)
“The Story of My Teeth” by Valeria Luiselli (Mexico)
“Reckless” by Hasan Ali Toptas (Turkey)

* Best Summer Read
In italics, SRG’s Coup de Cœur