The World We Found: A Novel

University students in late 1970s Bombay, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta were inseparable. Spirited and unconventional, they challenged authority and fought for a better world. But much has changed in the thirty years since those heady days. Following different paths, the quartet has drifted apart, and the day-to-day demands of work and family have tempered the revolutionary fervor they shared. Then comes devastating news: Armaiti, who moved to America, is dying and wants to see the old friends she left behind. For Laleh, reunion is a bittersweet reminder of unfulfilled dreams and unspoken guilt. For Kavita, it is an admission of forbidden passion. For Nishta, it is the end of self-delusion and the promise of freedom from a bitter fundamentalist husband. As for Armaiti, it is an act of acceptance, of letting go on her own terms even if her ex-huband and daughter do not understand her choices. In the course of their journey to reconnect, Armaiti, Laleh, Kavita, and Nishta must confront the truths of their lives - acknowledge long-held regrets, face painful secrets and hidden desires, and reconcile their idealistic past and their compromised present. And they will have to decide what matters most - a choice that just may help them reclaim the extraordinary world they once found. Exploring the enduring bonds of friendship and the power of love to change lives, and offering an indelible portrait of modern India - a nation struggling to bridge economic, religious, gender, and generational divides - "The World We Found" is a dazzling masterwork from the remarkable Thrity Umrigar.