Keya Das's Second Act
Written by Sopan Deb
Narrated by Ulka Simone Mohanty
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Shantanu Das is living in the shadows of his past. In his fifties, he finds himself isolated from his traditional Bengali community after a devastating divorce from his wife, Chaitali; he hasn’t spoken to his older daughter, Mitali, in months. Years before, when his younger daughter, Keya, came out as gay, no one in the Das family could find the words they needed. As each worked up the courage to say sorry, fate intervened: Keya was killed in a car crash.
So, when Shantanu finds an unfinished play Keya and her girlfriend had been writing, Mitali approaches the family with a wild idea: What if they were to put it on? It would be a way to honor Keya and finally apologize. Here, it seems, are the words that have escaped them over and over again.
Set in the vibrant world of Bengalis in the New Jersey suburbs, this “delightful” (Diksha Basu, author of The Windfall) debut novel is both poignant and, at times, a surprisingly hilarious testament to the unexpected ways we build family and find love, old and new.
Editor's Note
Hopeful and heartfelt…
A grieving father tries to honor his late daughter’s memory by producing a play she wrote with her high school girlfriend. Deb’s fiction debut (following his memoir, “Missed Translations”) is a story of family, regret, and atonement. Its central characters are Bengali-American emigrants, and themes of sexual identity and homophobia play a significant role. Despite the tragedy that sparks the plot, “Keya Das’s Second Act” is hopeful and heartfelt.
Sopan Deb
Sopan Deb is a writer for The New York Times, where his topics have included sports and culture. He is also the author of the memoir Missed Translations: Meeting the Immigrant Parents Who Raised Me. Before joining the Times, Deb was one of a handful of reporters who covered Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign from start to finish as a campaign embed for CBS News. He was named a “breakout media star” of the election by Politico. At The New York Times, Deb has interviewed high profile subjects such as Denzel Washington, Stephen Colbert, the cast of Arrested Development, Kyrie Irving, and Bill Murray. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and dog.
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Reviews for Keya Das's Second Act
15 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent! Great characters and intriguing story. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this.