Gold Diggers

With razor-sharp and incredibly witty prose, Sathian's Indian-American magical realist coming-of-age novel spans two continents, two coasts, and four eras, perfectly capturing what it means to grow up in a family, a diaspora, and the American meritocracy.

Neil Narayan is a brilliant, humorous, and genuine second-generation youngster who grew up in the Atlanta suburbs during the Bush administration. He simply lacks the same motivation as those around him. His ideal sister is on her way to Duke. Just as high are his parents' expectations for him. Neil aspires to this kind of prosperity, but his true desires are Anita Dayal, the neighbor across the cul-de-sac, and himself.

Anita, however, is hiding something from everyone: she and her mother Anjali have been using stolen gold to make an old alchemical elixir that would channel the jewelry's original owner's ambition. The mother of Anjali in Bombay preferred her sons over her daughter and did not spend the valuable potion on her. Anita, however, only requires a small push to gain admission to Harvard. However, when Neil—who requires far more—joins the story, things go horribly wrong and their community is torn apart.

A decade later, Neil is a frequently inebriated graduate student of Berkeley history specializing in the California gold rush. His high school pals have moved to Silicon Valley, where he meets up with Anita again and they resume their previous gold-stealing habit, albeit with more risks. Gold is the only thing that can save Anita's mother from danger. Neil and Anita need to pull off one final theft.

A nuanced, deeply perceptive, and sharply humorous exploration of issues surrounding identity and maturation, Gold Diggers dismantles clichés associated with America.