A woman who's realized all her dreams wakes up to a shocking truth that could destroy her and her family: she has a grown son in India, a child she was told was stillborn 30 years ago. Now she has to return to India reconcile with her past...and meet her unknown son.
Professional Reviews
The Unexpected Son (Publisher's Weekly)
Shobhan Bantwal, Kensington, $15 paper (352p) ISBN 978-0-7582-3203-8
A shocking letter from India sends middle-aged Vinita Patil reeling in Bantwal's (The Dowry Bride) absorbing latest. Living in New Jersey, contentedly married for almost 25 years to Girish, a mechanical engineer with whom she has a daughter, Vinita learns that the illegitimate child she believed was stillborn in India, is alive, suffering from myeloid leukemia, and desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. Vinita's brother, Vishal, who'd orchestrated the deception and arranged for the baby's adoption, fesses up that Vinta's son, Rohit Barve, is a chemistry professor at Shivraj College, the college where Vinita met Rohit's playboy father, Som Kori, who'd refused to marry her. Vinita and Som's coming from different linguistic groups vying for control of the border town of Palagum, made their union impossible. After Vinita finally meets her grown son, she's disturbed to learn that Som and Rohit's adoptive father are still embroiled in the violent territorial conflict, a situation that adds suspense to the story. This inspiring testament to a mother's enduring love makes for a fascinating tale and provides a window into an equally fascinating culture. (Aug.)
The Unexpected Son - Book Pleasures
The Unexpected Son's imagery grabs the reader's attention from the very first page. With her impeccable vocabulary, Shobhan Bantwal is a magical storyteller. The characters are so tangible that you miss them when you finish reading The Unexpected Son.
Giving the story an authentic flavor are Chai (spice milk tea from India), the spicy foods she describes and the insertion of Indian words. Her depictions of the strife between two warring factions in her village add a suspenseful background to the story.
In the first chapter we meet Vinita Patil, a happy, settled down Indian woman living in New Jersey with her husband and her young daughter. She is flabbergasted, after reading an anonymous letter from India telling her that her "son" whom she thought was stillborn, needs a bone marrow transplant in her native village.
Vinita, who had kept her past secret from her husband, unleashes his fury when he finds out. She departs for Palgram, India, her hometown, in order to help save her son, who was adopted without her knowledge. She is furious with her brother Visham and her mother, who had kept the adoption a secret for 30 years.
The author takes us back in time and recounts with heartbreaking details the ill- fated circumstances of her son's birth out of wedlock. Vinita had fallen in love with a selfish Don Juan, who was only playing with her heart. Unfortunately, she becomes pregnant and her lover does not want to be burdened. He cannot marry her since, he was promised to his cousin and moreover, he did not love her. Afraid for her reputation, her parents and brother are scandalized and would like her to give away her baby. The stigma of an unwed mother splatter her family in this ultra conservative society. They con her into believing that the baby is still born and they give him up for adoption to a good family. Vinita sizzles with fury and regret, and worries that her marriage is on the brink of collapse because of her illicit past.
Back to the present, Vinita finally meets her long lost son, but he is sick and needs a bone marrow transplant. Is Vinita a good match? Will a surprise ending let you cry for joy or sadness? I promise, you will not put down this novel until the very last word.
Shobhan Bantwal. is a late bloomer in writing. She was born in India to a large and conservative family. She had an arranged marriage to a man who happened to live in the U S and brought her to New Jersey several years ago. After giving birth to a daughter, she continued her studies until she obtained a second master's degree in Public Administration from Rider University. She started working for a government agency where she continues to work. Until she was in her fifties, she never thought she could write.
The Unexpected Son is her fourth novel in a very short span of time. She continues to write about her favorite subject: women's issues in a conservative society. She likes to teach about her own exotic culture and she definitely entertains the readers with romance, mystery, sadness and humor. She sure gave us something to sink our teeth into in The Unexpected Son.
The Unexpected Son - Coffee Time Romance
Vinita is a strong, self-righteous and stubborn woman. At nineteen, she is somehow
naďve and yet an intelligent student with set plans for her future. These plans,
however, will take a sharp detour when she falls in love with the wrong man. Thirty
years later, she will find herself facing and struggling with her past one more
time. "Events returned full circle sometimes, leaving one helpless and struggling
against the tide."
Somesh Kori is the most popular guy in college. He is deceitful, arrogant and the
offspring of a corrupted upbringing, hiding behind a handsome face, athletic build
and expensive clothes. Once he sets his mind on having Vinita, her troubles will all
begin. Like Vinita, his past will come around but with one last chance at
self-redemption, will he take it?
Vinita Patil seems to have it all: a beautiful home in New Jersey, a successful
career and a loving husband and daughter. On one fine spring day, she receives a
mysterious letter from India that threatens to expose an old secret and a shameful
past. Unable to dismiss the letter and determined to find out more about a missing
link, Vinita starts looking for answers that will shake her world as she knows it.
It is not every day that I find myself captivated by a story right from the first
few pages, but The Unexpected Son had this effect on me. It is an excellent work of
fiction, a page-turner that had me reading through with eyes wide open, and a moving story that flooded my heart with emotions and crowded my mind with endless questions.
I felt an instant connection and a strong reaction to each and every one of the characters; I totally identified with Vinita’s strength and weakness, detested Som, admired Vishal, and my heart swelled with sympathy for Rohit. In addition, the setting is vividly drawn with artistic, colorful and profound language that had me feeling right at home whether in Palgaum or in New Jersey. The dialogue is successfully sharp and realistic at all times. I believe it is Ms. Bantwal’s talent in creating a believable story, realistic characters and the ability of moving the reader effortlessly through time and place that makes this novel universal, a great cross-cultural experience and an exceptional read.
Just as life during the pandemic was color-coded with different hues representing different levels of danger, life in its aftermath has become shaded in similar ways. As a self-styled “Seeker of Beauty with Beauty,” (borrowing from a quote by W.E.B.
