Nell Freudenberger did a reading at the local Barista in Defence Colony, where the earth moved for her audience. More or less literally; the Corner Bookstore is perched on the second floor of a building that judders every time a car passes by, and you don’t want to know what it feels like when the milk truck’s doing its rounds. The Literary Saloon at the Complete Review has a roundup of the media response in India. They were glad (or not!) to see that their own views tallied so exactly with Rajeshwari Sharma’s considered opinions.

This is what Sharma wrote in the Economic Times:

“Unlike Freudenberger, her girls are more jittery than lucky. Largely from affluent families,

they live in — or are at least exposed to — the whole wide world, and still find themselves

at sea. Set in South East Asia and India, the stories revolve around young women, who

find themselves, often as expatriates, face to face with the compelling circumstances of

their relationships. Their dysfunctional families make for damaging environments in which

they struggle, to differing extents (and largely unsuccessfully), to find a hold.”

This is how the Complete Review’s review of Lucky Girls, published long before the Economic Times report, began:

“Nell Freudenberger’s girls are more jittery than lucky in this collection of five stories.

Largely from privileged backgrounds, they live in — or are at least exposed to — the

whole wide world, and still find themselves at sea. Their damaged families make for

damaging environments in which they struggle, to differing extents (and largely

unsuccessfully), to find a hold.”