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**A Red magazine book of 2023**
‘The most charming, utterly lovely story I’ve read in ages… this is one of my books of the year’ RED
‘This joyous novel is a feast for the senses, as well as the soul’ JOANNA NELL
Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be retired dentist who spends her days counting down to the annual visits from her daughter who is studying in the UK. Her neighbour, Revathi, is a thirty-two-year-old engineer who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date in the arranged marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London.
The residents have their own complicated lives to navigate, but what they all have in common is their love of where they live, so when a developer threatens to demolish the apartments and build over the gardens, the community of Grand Life Apartments is brought even closer together to fight for their beautiful home…
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‘I loved this heartwarming read’ PRIMA
‘It’s utterly entrancing – so humane and funny, and so seeped in India that I could smell the cooking and breathe the exhaust fumes. I absolutely loved it from start to finish.’ DEBORAH MOGGACH
‘I was put in mind of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City . . . a distinctive and evocative voice’ GRAEME SIMSION
‘Warm, gorgeous, tender, hopeful and human. I felt so HAPPY when I was reading it’ DAISY BUCHANAN
‘An enchanting hug of a book with characters that you’ll really root for’ NIKKI MAY
‘A super warm and lovely read … Should have a warning though: WILL MAKE YOU HUNGRY!’ KATE SAWYER
‘Hema Sukumar’s debut is an absolute joy. I loved being transported to the Grand Life Apartments and I was bewitched by the characters, colours and tastes of Chennai. Please can I move in forever?’ CLARE POOLEY
‘A gorgeous, beautifully-written story, full of wonderfully charming characters – and a loveable cat.’ NICK BRADLEY
‘Written with such warmth … full of life and love. Hema Sukumar’s lovely characters became like friends to me, and I adored spending time with them.’ SARA ADAMS
‘The most charming, utterly lovely story I’ve read in ages… this is one of my books of the year’ RED
‘This joyous novel is a feast for the senses, as well as the soul’ JOANNA NELL
A warm-hearted debut novel set in the beautiful coastal city of Chennai, for fans of Alexander McCall Smith, Joanna Nell and Graeme Simsion.
Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block surrounded by lush gardens in the coastal city of Chennai, India. It is the home of Kamala, a pious, soon-to-be retired dentist who spends her days counting down to the annual visits from her daughter who is studying in the UK. Her neighbour, Revathi, is a thirty-two-year-old engineer who is frequently reminded by her mother that she has reached her expiry date in the arranged marriage market. Jason, a British chef, has impulsively moved to India to escape his recent heartbreak in London.
The residents have their own complicated lives to navigate, but what they all have in common is their love of where they live, so when a developer threatens to demolish the apartments and build over the gardens, the community of Grand Life Apartments is brought even closer together to fight for their beautiful home…
——————————-
‘I loved this heartwarming read’ PRIMA
‘It’s utterly entrancing – so humane and funny, and so seeped in India that I could smell the cooking and breathe the exhaust fumes. I absolutely loved it from start to finish.’ DEBORAH MOGGACH
‘I was put in mind of Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City . . . a distinctive and evocative voice’ GRAEME SIMSION
‘Warm, gorgeous, tender, hopeful and human. I felt so HAPPY when I was reading it’ DAISY BUCHANAN
‘An enchanting hug of a book with characters that you’ll really root for’ NIKKI MAY
‘A super warm and lovely read … Should have a warning though: WILL MAKE YOU HUNGRY!’ KATE SAWYER
‘Hema Sukumar’s debut is an absolute joy. I loved being transported to the Grand Life Apartments and I was bewitched by the characters, colours and tastes of Chennai. Please can I move in forever?’ CLARE POOLEY
‘A gorgeous, beautifully-written story, full of wonderfully charming characters – and a loveable cat.’ NICK BRADLEY
‘Written with such warmth … full of life and love. Hema Sukumar’s lovely characters became like friends to me, and I adored spending time with them.’ SARA ADAMS
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Reviews
It's utterly entrancing - so humane and funny, and so seeped in India that I could smell the cooking and breathe the exhaust fumes. I absolutely loved it from start to finish
Warm, gorgeous, tender, hopeful and human. I felt so HAPPY when I was reading it
An enchanting hug of a book with characters that you'll really root for
A super warm and lovely read . . . Should have a warning though: WILL MAKE YOU HUNGRY
From the vibrant setting to its engaging characters, this joyous novel is a feast for the senses, as well as the soul
I was put in mind of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. Just daily life and its 'small disturbances' but rendered with great observational acuity and a distinctive and evocative voice
Hema Sukumar's debut is an absolute joy. I loved being transported to the Grand Life Apartments and I was bewitched by the characters, colours and tastes of Chennai. Please can I move in forever?
A gorgeous, beautifully-written story, full of wonderfully charming characters - and a loveable cat
Written with such warmth . . . full of life and love. Hema Sukumar's lovely characters became like friends to me, and I adored spending time with them
The most charming, utterly lovely story I've read in ages . . . With characters you absolutely root for and mouth-watering descriptions of delicious food, this is one of my books of the year
I can picture this as a TV series - and I would definitely watch it
I loved this heartwarming read
Inspiring
This charming debut is an absolute joy
This is a delightful and warm-hearted story with a cast of characters I immediately fell in love with. Readers will be swept away by Sukumar's beautiful, evocative storytelling, and I defy anyone to read this and not want to move to the Grand Life Apartments! I adored this charming, hopeful book