I love Abraham Verghese. This short story shows how to see beauty in the bad situations. Ravi is a tennis prodigy, who's mother wants him to follow in his father's footsteps to work in medicine. When a tragic event happens, Ravi and his mother must cope and learn to continue on and see beauty in their lives.

4 stars ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆

this book was so good!
seeing the characters handle grief and ravi’s new role as the man of the house and how he’s trying to balance grief and his mother’s grief. this was so beautiful i was so disappointed when it ended.

Fajer Al-Kaisi narrated this short story so beautifully

This is a beautiful short story about loss and grief. I loved the Indian customs and culture portrayed in this story. It wasn’t light or fun by any means... it was dark and sad and hard to listen to at times. But I loved that it felt real. Thank you NetGalley for the audio!

a short read that packs a punch. this one's a story about how one's life can change overnight regardless of your age, experience, or current life situation. with life's uncertainty, all we can do is get up and get going.

A beautifully devastating short story on family, culture, and grief. For a short story, there are so many emotions here and impact here. I do wish it were a bit more nuanced as there were some loose ends, but definitely still worth the read!

A thoughtful narrative on the topics of grief, community, and growing up. Community and ritual are at the heart of this story. Specifically, what it means to be apart of a community and how we show up for people in the most complicated, isolating times of their lives. This is a story about Ravi, a young boy, growing up in the green, idyllic suburbs of New Jersey processing how cruel and random the world can be for the first time. Verghese particularly highlights the importance of ritual and how it gives us meaning in the darkest of times. The ritual of Ravi's mother who wakes up extra early to make her husband a warm breakfast before surgery even though he would rather just have a cup of black coffee. The ritual of Ravi's father who pretends that he has "absconded" from work to come have lunch with his family twice a week. The ritual of Mr. McGillicuddy who goes to Mass every Sunday even though he doesn't know what he believes in anymore, but does it part because he wants to feel close to his deceased wife. As the story progresses, Ravi partakes in important cultural and religious rituals that were previously unavailable and unimportant to him. But grief changes us in ways we never expect it too. We find comfort in the relevant certainty of ritual in an inherently uncertain world. A lesson that Ravi learns in the final scene of the story as he and his mother create a new ritual together to help them navigate the knew uncertainty in their lives.

While this is a short story, we truly see what it is like while Ravi navigates his cultural identity, grief, and being a teenager. Grief is huge on anyone, but on a young person it can alter your perspective of the world. We see how grief can come in many different ways, whether it’s blaming yourself, avoiding it, being confused, and trying to understand why. It was a truly beautiful story and showed that we really need to slow down, be present in each moment, and not take anything for granted.

I really enjoyed this short story. I’ve been interested in the author for a while but couldn’t commit to his 700 page work. This was a nice sampling.

For so few pages, the author was really able to invoke strong emotions and a strong sense of family and identity.

I really enjoyed learning about a community with different customs and traditions than my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC!

This is a short story about a man who dies and how his wife and sons grieve him. The story sets up the family dynamics and what is important to each of them. When they find themselves grieving they are all dealing with it in different ways. That is done brilliantly in this book. It's also an interesting way of how sometimes we don't realize the important things until after someone is gone. We find a new appreciation for them and who they were.

I always enjoy Dr Verghese’s writing. This was a short story for Amazon originals. The narration was good, especially the authentic accents. This story was a powerful glimpse of a young boy’s life before and after a major life event. I hope that we might get to see how Ravi’s life continued to involve in a future story or novel!

This was a nice short story about family and grief. I always enjoy learning about the rituals and traditions of other religions and cultural groups. This was short, but interesting. It was easy to feel for the young boy who is the narrator of the story.

This quick short story deals with themes of grief as a boy and his mother navigate the immediate aftermath of the father’s death. I loved the writing but overall found this a bit disappointing due to the length. It felt too short for character development or any meaningful messages to be passed along. I’d still be interested in reading this author’s other works as he is clearly talented.

An amazing story about growing up and grief. This short story really packed a pinch and was beautifully writtwn

2.5 stars rounded up.

I received this from Amazon Prime as their free bonus short story for the month of June from Kindle First Reads, as well as an audiobook version from NetGalley and Brilliance Audio. I've heard about the author's full length novels, but have never read them, and was intrigued to see that he is also a practicing physician.

Overall, this was just a so-so family drama about an Indian America teenage boy in the immediate aftermath of the death of his physician father, and how he and his mother each navigate their grief. The very short length of this novella did not work in terms of character development, so unfortunately this will be a rather forgettable read for me.

A really beautiful short story about grief and how there can still be little moments of joy and beauty. This novella sees thirteen-year-old Ravi just after his fathers sudden death and how his culture dictates some of his grieving. There were moments where it didn't feel like Ravi was thirteen and then a couple where you could see it.

Thanks to Netgalley for access to the ARC, this is already out.

Short stories can either lack development in their true nature or pack a punch. This one, the latter. There is a depth to the story that I was not expecting initially. I had expectations of how Ravi’s summer was going to be when I, too, was shocked when it all upended. This story is a celebration of life, tradition, and finding connection with those you love.

The audiobook read by Fajer Al-Kaisi is paced well and allows the reader to sink into the story without pronunciation distractions. They are also easily understood at faster speeds.

Thank you NetGalley, Brilliance Publishing, Amazon Original Stories, and author Abraham Verghese for the eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I had to take a few breaks in between reading this short story because at every plot point I found something to feel very very sad about. But once I got through it, there’s a tiny little joke that made me chuckle. I think Verghese is a wizard with this sort of thing to be able to play with your emotions so well.

The audiobook narrator didn’t pronounce so many words right that pulled me out of the book, but the actual story saved this.

I’m at a loss at how to review this for several reasons. I think, for starters, it’s just not the type of story I’m into. Not only that, but having lost my dad suddenly around the same age as Ravi, it was triggering for me. But it’s the way the novella is written in such a profound and raw way that really got under my skin so much. I really did feel transported by the authors words — reminded the very real things I thought and felt in the moments and days immediately following my dad’s death.

So: the writing was great. The storytelling was compelling. It just… wasn’t what I was looking for and isn’t the normal tone I hope for when reading.

I did love learning about these characters and about a faith and lifestyle and culture that’s different than my own. I love the relationship between Ravi’s family and their Catholic, widower neighbor. How different people can be and yet the respect and admiration is in full supply. I loved seeing Ravi’s community of loved ones embrace his family during hardship. I loved the friendship between him and his neighbor/twin.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories, and Brilliance Publishing for the ARC and ALC copies of this short story for my honest review!

The audiobook version of Abscond, narrated by Fajer Al-Kaisi, is a beautifully delivered and emotionally resonant experience. While the story itself is brief, it carries a powerful emotional weight, following young Ravi as he comes to terms with the sudden death of his father, a respected physician. Abraham Verghese’s writing is poignant and layered, and the narration only enhances its impact.

Al-Kaisi brings Ravi’s story to life with warmth, nuance, and quiet strength. Each character is portrayed with depth and authenticity, making the emotional moments land even more deeply. The performance strikes a perfect balance between restraint and feeling—never overdone, always heartfelt.

This is the kind of narration that elevates the story, making it even more immersive and affecting. I would absolutely seek out other works by this narrator. Abscond is a touching reminder to make each moment count, and the audiobook makes that message feel all the more intimate and profound.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publishers, for the opportunity to listen to this. Abscond was not bad at all—short, crisp, and well-written, just missing that extra wow factor I was hoping for. Still, a good read and worth picking up if you enjoy compact, thoughtful storytelling.