Limits of the World a novel

(Paperback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The Chandaria family-emigrants from the Indian-enclave of Nairobi-have managed to flourish in America. Premchand, the father, is a doctor who has worked doggedly to grow his practice and give his family security; his wife, Urmila, runs a business importing artisanal Kenyan crafts; and their son, Sunil, after quitting the pre-med track, has gotten accepted to a PhD program in philosophy at Harvard. But the parents have kept a very important secret from Sunil: his cousin, Bimal, is actually his older brother. And when this previously hidden history is revealed by an unforeseen accident, and the entire family is forced to return to Nairobi, Sunil reveals his own well-kept, explosive secret: his Jewish-American girlfriend, who has accompanied him to Kenya, is, in fact, already his wife. Spanning four generations and three continents, The Limits of the World illuminates the vast mosaic of cultural divisions and ethical considerations that shape the ways in which we judge one another's actions. A dazzling debut novel-written with rare empathy and insight-it is a powerful depiction of how we prevent ourselves, unwittingly and otherwise, from understanding the people we are closest to.

Reviews

A magnificent achievement. Ackers novel immerses us fully into the lives and feelings of people who are completely unlike us and makes us learn to love them and hope for them, just as we love and hope for those who are like us.
Acker unwinds a complex intergenerational story of immigration, culture, family, partnership, and ethics in her skillful debut. Fans of Jhumpa Lahiri or Yaa Gyasi will want to check out Ackers elegant saga.
Ackers debut is a carefully drawn portrait of a family constrained by choices... a rare but honest look at the way parents, children, and spouses talk to one another but dont always hear whats being said. A thoughtful, deeply researched debut.

Author Bio

Jennifer Ackeris founder and editor-in-chief ofThe Common. Her short stories, essays, translations, translations, and reviews have appeared in theWashington Post,Literary Hub,n+1,Guernica,The Yale Review, andPloughshares, among other places. Acker has an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and organizes LitFest. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband.The Limits of the Worldis her debut novel.