Kathmandu, March 28 -- There's a saying that some books find us at just the right time and help us make sense of what we're feeling.

Troubled by my own loneliness, a regular stroll to my favourite bookstore in Thamel led me to pick up Kiran Desai's 'The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny'. And this book did exactly that.

Shortlisted for the prestigious 2025 Booker Prize, the book is set in different locations across India and the US. It explores themes of patriarchy, marriage structures, class divides, postcolonial identity and the hypocrisies of everyday life.

Desai offers fresh insight into the story. It opens up in a scene in an Indian household, where a major discussion centres on the menu for one of the characters' birthdays. The way D...