The Golden Son by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Contemporary Fiction; India An instant bestseller in Canada, The Golden Son is a "sensitive and intelligent work" with an unforgettable story of family, responsibility, love, honour and tradition, in which two childhood friends must balance the expectations of their culture and their families with the desires of their own hearts (National Post). Author of the bestselling Secret Daughter, Shilpi Somaya Gowda’s The Golden Son is about a young Indian doctor who leaves his village for a residency in the US. But he grapples with the expectation that as the oldest son, he is expected to inherit the mantle of arbiter for all village disputes. And he finds himself torn between a beautiful American girl and his old childhood friend. From the Back Cover Two childhood friends separated by thousands of miles rekindle their relationship just at the moment when they need each other most. Anil is the cherished son of a large family in rural India. Fiercely brave, Leena is his closest companion, despite the inequalities of life and circumstance. Anil becomes the first person in his family to leave India—the first to attend college and become a doctor. Leena also leaves her beloved home. She joins her new husband in a distant village, but her arranged marriage shatters her romantic hopes, forcing her to make a desperate choice.