But to me, the story felt long and winding. There were too many details about things which i didn't care to know about. The pacing also could have been crisper and shorter. There are indeed some intrigue and thrill elements to the story; but they don't manage to keep the reader completely interested. And I can't say I loved where the story went and how it ended. I would have liked a different ending with Maddie learning some more lessons. The Things That We Lost by Jyoti Patel is a poignantly rendered novel of family, loss and secrets, and the depths we go to protect those we love— and ourselves. Overcome by the recent death of his beloved grandfather, Nik turns to question the mystery surrounding the unexpected death of his late father, Elliot, who passed away before he was born. So begins a gentle unravelling of the layers of family history and painful secrets carefully masked by Nik’s mother, Avani, piece by piece, until both mother and son reach a tense precipice that threatens to fracture their entire relationship. We then immediately move to Nik, trying to find his grandfather in hospital, as he had been moved. You sensed the closeness they had from the off. We then move through various points in time. Some are present day, some scenes are from the past. It melds into a story that is done beautifully well in my opinion. Joe Morgenstern (2007-10-19). "Del Toro Rescues 'Things We Lost,' A Tale of Grief". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 2007-10-27. I found the mystery of Elliot utterly compelling - in fact, I think I may have become almost as desperate for answers, and frustrated with Avani for not providing them, as Nik was! Even so, by the end, I could totally see why Avani behaved the way she did, as a result of blaming herself as well as wanting to protect her child from distressing knowledge.

While the similarities between our experiences end there, my feelings towards this novel only grew deeper. Jyoti Patel has beautifully captured the impact that those who are no longer with us leave behind. She has thought of it all. The inner conflicts, the misunderstandings, the things that are said because the things we want to say go unsaid. The grief that is carried alone because misguidedly, we think it will be a burden to share with others. I requested this debut novel by Jyoti Patel, who won the #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize in 2021, attracted by its themes of family and identity. Although it centres on a young person, it’s not one of those struggling millennials novels but a story about generations and the stories they tell or don’t tell. It did not disappoint, and reminded me of Sairish Hussain’s “ The Family Tree” or Kasim Ali’s “ Good Intentions” with their multicultural and university settings. This novel follows the Lees, a Chinese American family living in Ohio in the 1970s. In the opening lines, the omniscient narrator declares: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” Lydia is the middle child, the favourite, whose body is soon to be found in a nearby lake. The narrator moves between the perspectives of each family member, weaving together the secrets each holds, allowing the reader to see the misunderstandings and miscommunications between them as they grapple with their grief and the mystery of Lydia’s death. I saw you said in an interview that the first draft of the novel was told all from Nik’s perspective. Why did you decide to add in sections told from Avani’s perspective?So I try to get out of thrillerville by choosing what I thought was a Sliding Doors/Maybe in Another Life style story. Yet what did I get? A quasi-suspense book that didn't even really come full circle in the end.

Apart from this I really enjoyed this book and zipped through it in a couple of days. I'd definitely recommend it and look for more work by Jyoti Patel.

So there’s a lot going on in this book but it’s not cluttered and not at all writing-course-y, but flows naturally with themes of friendship and family and friendship within family pushing to the fore. There’s a beautiful redemptive moment with an uncle who had seemed to have become almost a cliche, and there’s a very nice dog which doesn’t have anything awful happen to it (phew). We’re not left with all the ends neatly tied, which I liked, but with enough resolution and hope to make it a positive as well as an interesting read. The novel has two main protagonists – Nik(hu) and his mum Avani, and is partly set in the second half of 2017 as Nik prepares for his first term at University (studying History at an unnamed Northern seaside University) and part across Avani’s earlier life. The Prologue has her at University in 1990 studying Mathematics and also introduces us to her then boyfriend and future father of Nik – Elliott – from a poor and abusive white family and her older brother Chand. Josh Rosenblatt (2007-10-19). "Things We Lost in the Fire". The Austin Chronicle . Retrieved 2007-10-27.