The Inheritance of Loss (K. Desai) centres around Sai, an Indian girl living with her misanthropist grandfather and his cook in a village at the foot of the Himalayas. The book is beautifully written with slowly developing plotlines, extensively elaborating on the characters, the country and their lives in general. The Ghorka uprising therefore seems to come as a surprise, both to the reader and the characters, each of whose lives are upset in very different ways. Much recommended.