Booker season continues with Chetna Maroo’s Western Lane (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2023). This slim novella packs both a powerful punch and a tender hug – all with a backdrop of squash.
Eleven-year-old Gopi has been playing squash for as long as she can remember, but when her mother dies, her father’s grief leads to an obsession with the sport. He never forces Gopi or her older sisters to practice, but their own grief and love for their father has them on the courts at Western Lane every day. Much like her father finds an escape in their training, Gopi finds an escape on the courts. Her sisters grieve differently, and they don’t pour their anger and grief into their swings the way she does. Gopi is talented, and her grief combined with her father’s new obsession of training her, has made her a formidable player. Plans are made for her to attend a tournament, and that tournament and the family’s preparations for it are what move the story forward. But this isn’t just a story about squash, despite all the squash being played; this is a story of a young girl who has lost her mother and who feels like she’s losing her father. This is the story of three sisters who miss their mother. This is the story of a man who lost his wife and doesn’t know how to raise his three daughters. This is a story of loneliness, family, and growing up. It’s never just about the game.
Surprisingly, this has been my favorite read from the longlist thus far. It’s simple and delicate, and just beautiful.
Read this book.
Booker Count: 5 of 13
A Girl Named Tommi 