I took my time reading this (almost 2 months!) and I’m so glad I did. The story is packed-full of characters that might make you feel overwhelmed at times, but to me it just added to the richness of the story.

Loved the way Desai delivered Sonia and Sunny’s stories through the pages. And loved the sprinkles of comic relief to break up the tension in some parts.

One of my Top 5 reads this year!

Staaaaaaaap!!!!!!!! Oh, my, GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!! THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!! Like , my brain chemistry has been FOREVER changed!! One of the most heartwarming books I’ve ever read in my life

This book has so much going on, I really don't know where to start describing all the things I loved about it. It is the sort of book that I recommend to patrons by simply saying, "This book is phenomenal from start to finish. One of the best I've read this year."

There are so many characters spread across so many times and places, but each is so well-drawn I had no problem keeping track of everyone. The writing is so smart. There are about a million sections highlighted in my digital copy because the author said something interesting or used the perfect phrase.

I have already pre-ordered my own hardcover copy for my collection at home! I will definitely be putting this book in the hands of all the library patrons.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Books like this are always ones I hold near my heart, where life’s interest in ways that show complexity with emotions and the struggles of life. Sonia and Sunny’s characters were both amazing and as we learn more about each of them, their connection makes sense. They’re just two people trying to find happiness in a very complex world, and that is one of the most relatable themes in this story. The author shows how the themes of country, class, race, history, and generational bonds can burden the spirit. I clutched this one to my chest when I finished.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (On Sale 9/23/25, thank you @Hogarth @NetGalley for the #gifted eARC)

I’m veering from my typical format and jumping right to the conclusion: go preorder this now! I’ve seen The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny showing up in my feed and it’s on most Booker predictions I’ve seen. I’ll admit, after requesting it I reread the blurb and debated withdrawing it; the mention of spells and embarking “on a search for happiness together” felt romance coded which is not my thing. Thank goodness FOMO got the better of me and that @bitterpurl and @owenreads allowed me to insert myself into their buddy read, because the hype is warranted. This will be one of my top reads of the year.

As I worked through this grand narrative I kept thinking “this book has it all!” It has excellent writing, the story is compelling, and there is depth that makes it more than just a good story. Desai covers a lot of ground in nearly 700 pages, creating a multifaceted, deeply meaningful tale about independence and connection in a world with many complexities. She tackles racism, colonization, art and the cost of creativity, performance, and more, but it never feels too political or preachy or overdone.

Initially I second guessed myself but as the book progressed it became impossible to doubt Desai’s skillful use of humor alongside deeply serious moments; one moment I teared up with emotion and laughed out loud the next. My jaw literally dropped at Desai’s honesty, line after line hits hard with an unflinching candidness, there was just one impactful statement after another calling into being truths that aren’t often said aloud but absolutely exist.

Desai conveys loneliness in a way I don’t recall experiencing before. She characterizes a depth of loneliness in a way that resonates with me, and I love that the loneliness doesn’t magically disappear using an unrealistic romance trope or happily ever after. Even with all the external factors that influence our lives and who we are, I love that this novel explores happiness as an inside job. There is hope and magic here, but there’s also reality. I love it, can’t wait for more people to discover this gem.

Grateful to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

This novel is a sprawling saga of the lives of Sonia and Sunny, two Indian-born children who are educated in the United States. Their grandfathers had been friends for years and at one point, their families consider an arranged marriage between the two, which ultimately does not happen. Years later, they do begin a romantic relationship that falls apart, but even as years pass, they continue to think of each other and each hold resentments towards Ilan, Sonia's former boyfriend.

Kiran Desai is an incredibly talented writer and the prose in this novel is nothing short of stunning. The ranging cast of characters is portrayed with warmth and depth. The novel touches upon themes ranging from the immigrant experience, the complexities of familial expectations across cultural and social upheaval, and the haunting of past heartbreaks. I fully expect to see this novel in conversation for the Booker Prize. It has been nearly 20 years since Desai's last novel, but this has been well worth the wait.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A couple of young Indians, educated in the United States, are suggested as a marriageable pair by their relatives. Unbeknownst to their families back in India, both Sonia and Sonny are romantically involved with Westerners. Over time, both relationships end and Sonny and Sonia come together without the knowledge of their people. It doesn't last. Life happens, success happens, struggles happen.

I love the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Hogarth (Jaylen) for an ARC of this novel.

What an absolutely wonderful novel. Back in the day, this novel might have been called “big-hearted” for its treatment of the many characters and situations in the story. But that term doesn’t really cover the magnificent complexity of this novel. Kiran Desai has written a huge, sprawling, entertaining novel that is immensely readable and relatable yet at the same time manages to touch on some fairly serious subjects. While a summation of the novel would have to focus on the central relationship between Sonia and Sunny as they maneuver through the late 1990s and early 2000s to try and find themselves and each other, in truth the novel is about nothing less than life itself, human existence with its many highs and lows.

The novel explores love in its many forms—familial, parental, romantic, fraternal, dysfunctional—as well as racism, poverty, class distinctions, American exceptionalism, Indian history, and more. And yet the novel is not pedantic or preachy. Desai manages to focus on these subjects with a wry style that had me laughing out loud at times.

Desai applies this wry, witty authorial lens on the many characters in the novel. Even when they are on the stage for only a few pages, each character is fully realized and well-rounded. They are lovable, despicable, unpredictable, generous, selfish, selfless, and vengeful. Their motivations are myriad and complex, and this renders them as very human. All struggle (but one?) with life and its setbacks, occasionally achieving moments of clarity. The beauty of the novel is that we spend time with many characters, not just Sonia and Sunny, so that we end up listening to a chorus instead of a duet. Desai reminds us that any love story between two people is actually a love story brought about by a myriad of people.

Again, this is a big, wonderful novel that is a world unto itself. Dickensian in the best sense, filled with great and memorable characters and a touch of evil just to keep things lively.

This work follows the previous acclaimed work from the author after a very long gap and I believe the wait was worth it. Though long, the story moves at a reasonable pace so you don't feel the length of it. A good read!

Undeniably beautiful writing and storytelling. This novel definitely requires patience and attention. I found my interest ebbing and flowing throughout. Recommended to readers looking for a lengthy story that spans decades and continents, and that explores topics of love, identify, family, and beliefs.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

"The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" by Kiran Desai is a brave literary novel, written on an epic scale. It is the love story of Sonia and Sunny, of the artist and their art, and of nations with themselves and the rest of the world. Themes of love, trauma, and heartbreak, as well as inequality and prejudice, are reflected in scales and perspectives from the personal through the societal. The writing is beautiful, complex, and specific; every word and image is carefully chosen and woven into the patterns that define the novel. The images and ideas will remain with me. This is a work worth contemplating and rereading. I highly recommend "The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny" to readers who enjoy complex and thoughtful writing, where everything has meaning that extends far beyond the surface.

Many thanks to Hogarth/Random House and NetGalley for access to a digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Sonny and Sonia are Indian students in the US. She's at a small Vermont college, and he's in New York City. Loneliness is a new thing for them, coming from a country where people are in your face all. the. time, whether they are strangers or members of the family. Sunny has a white girlfriend, a smart, appealing woman whose Kansas family welcomes Sunny. Ulla knows that he has never told his family about her, which is why when he comes back from an Indian visit, she has left him with no word. Now Sunny enters the world where he is alone, and finds that he doesn't seem to be able to connect with people like he did just a few years ago. Sonia has only connected with her library supervisor at a school where the weather and the terrible food have her calling home crying that she is lonely. Her parents are bewildered, but have their own troubles. A friend of her father recommends a possible match with a friend's son, also in the US, You've guessed who those two young people are, but you won't guess how badly it goes between the families in India as well as Sunny and Sonia, who at this point have never met each other. Sonia finds herself on a dangerous, destructive path, while Sonny returns to India with his one friend to help him choose a bride.

Set in the 1990's, Kiran Desai opens the story to include both Sonia and Sunny's families, offering a vision of middle class people between Partition and 9/11, their struggles with insane corruption, changing mores, and juddering real estate. It's all so absorbing that you will happily spend nearly 700 pages there and may even wish for a few more.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny evokes an immediate sense of profound human connection and the bittersweet ache of navigating life's vast complexities. One anticipates a journey with Sonia and Sunny that will stir deep empathy, as their personal search for happiness unfolds against the backdrop of powerful, often overwhelming, global and familial forces.
The novel promises to resonate on a deeply personal level, making readers reflect on their own experiences with love, the weight of heritage, and the challenge of forging an identity between cultures or across generations. The 'loneliness' in the title isn't just a state; it feels like an invitation to explore the universal human yearning for belonging and understanding in a world that frequently fosters isolation.