SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA was born and raised in Toronto. Her previous novels, Secret Daughter and The Golden Son, became international bestsellers, with over one million copies sold worldwide. She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Morehead-Cain scholar. Gowda lives in California with her husband and children.

 

Shilpi Somaya Gowda's profile page

“Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s great achievement is this: she makes each locale she depicts fascinating and true and original; she makes each character she draws so heartbreakingly vibrant that even after we finish reading we can’t forget them.”

Chitra Divakaruni, author of <em>Mistress of Spices</em> and <em>Oleander Girl</em>

“The Golden Son successfully achieves the virtually impossible: it is every bit as good and strong as . . . Secret Daughter. . . . It was five years in the making and worth the wait.”

<em>Winnipeg Free Press</em>

“Gowda has the writerly chops when it comes to pace and plot. . . . The novel’s denouement manages to subvert expectations, while still fulfilling the fable’s responsibility to convey a useful, resonant truth.”

<em>Toronto Star</em>

“From a poor village in India to the journey of a boy who escapes to become a brilliant and sensible doctor at a high-tech medical center in Dallas, Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s sweeping love story is meticulous in its detail, heartfelt—and a great read.”

Samuel Shem, M.D., author of <em>The House of God</em> and <em>At the Heart of the Universe<./em>

“Gowda is a gifted storyteller, bringing together various related story strands into a fully integrated whole.”

<em>Vancouver Sun</em>

“Shilpi Somaya Gowda paints an illuminating portrait of a young Indian man who must learn to reconcile his career ambitions in America with the traditional values and expectations of his family in India. Compellingly written, The Golden Son will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page.”

Vanessa Diffenbaugh, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>The Language of Flowers</em>

“Like Gowda’s bestselling debut novel, Secret Daughter, this book offers readers vivid cultural immersion.”

<em>Publishers Weekly</em>

A stellar follow-up to Gowda’s excellent debut. Vivid, heart-warming, and absorbing, The Golden Son succeeds as an immigrant’s tale and love story wrapped into one because of the beautiful writing and compelling characters that illuminate universal truths of loss and identity.

Heidi Durrow, <em>New York Times</em> bestselling author of <em>The Girl Who Fell From the Sky</em>

“Gowda can write up moments that break your heart. . . . The Golden Son combines the immigrant novel with a fascination for the insecure and dependent lives of rural women in India.”

<em>The Globe and Mail</em>

“The Golden Son triumphs because of its many pleasures and complications: romantic intrigues, family vendettas, unexpected tragedies and criminal secrets harbored by characters in both India and America. This satisfying immersion in two complicated cultures offers no easy resolutions.”

<em>Washington Post</em>

“Shilpi Somaya Gowda is as adept at crafting disparate, fully realized worlds—a village in India, a medical school in Texas—as she is at creating compelling characters.”

Marisa de los Santos, author of <em>Love Walked In and Belong to Me</em>

“Gowda masterfully develops place and characters with visual richness. She offers delicious storytelling. . . . The Golden Son is an absolute page-turner.”

<em>Washington Independent Review of Books</em>

“A sensitive and intelligent work . . . [with a] finely drawn protagonist. . . . Demonstrates Gowda’s abilities as a sympathetic observer of heart and mind.”

<em>National Post</em>