The Things That We Lost by Jyoti Patel

Where to begin with my review of this incredible book? 

I could talk about how quickly it drew me in…from the very 1st page.

Or how well it tackled the idea of identity from the viewpoint of a person of colour in Britain…brilliantly eye opening.

Maybe I could focus on the portrayal of family secrets and dynamics…devastatingly powerful at times.

Perhaps the coming of age element should be the central thrust…Nikhil’s journey is a rollercoaster ride! 

Should I explore Avani’s life and mothering choices…it’s complicated! 

Instead, I’m going to talk first about how it made me feel. This is a book that took me through the full gamut of emotions; nodding along in recognition, breathlessly waiting to see what would happen next, feeling sorrow for what might have been, sharing the grief of loss, anger at casual racism, disappointment when I felt characters let themselves or others down. You know it’s well written when you find yourself having heated discussions with the protagonists in your head. When you think you understand their reasons but violently disagree with the choices they made. I had a lot of these reading this book! 

The Things That We Lost is a gem of a story following the aftermath of the death of the family patriarch. Nikhil has always felt that he has only ever had a heavily curated and sanitised view of the father who died before he was born. He is preparing to leave for uni when his dying grandfather tells him where to find a key that will unlock some of the secrets of his past but warns him that his mother, Avani, won’t be happy about it. Will the discovery derail his plans? Will his mother finally give him the full story about his father and, more importantly, will he come to terms with the uncertainties  of the past? Needless to say, there are revelations, upsets and high drama moments along the way which will keep you turning those pages to the end. 

 The author uses a variety of timelines to drip feed the background to their stories, showing how the past colours the people we become and the decisions we make. It skilfully shows how relationships with families and friends change over the years and that we often don’t understand why our loved ones behave as they do. I talked about the heated discussions I had with characters earlier, well sometimes I felt the need to apologise for things I’d said. As the next episode from the past was uncovered, I realised how you don’t always have the full picture and should refrain from rushing to judgement or using harsh words when you haven’t walked in someone else’s shoes. I love a book that makes you reevaluate your stance. It also gave me cultural insight, I did find myself having to stop to check my understanding of some terms at times, but I loved the authenticity of the language used, pitch perfect for the era, the age of the speaker or their background. 

Jyoti Patel is going to be a name to watch out for. I won’t say that for a debut, this is an amazing book. It is an amazing book full stop & one any author would be proud to have published. In case you hadn’t already guessed it from my review, this is a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read. 

Thank you Anne Cater & Random Tours for my proof copy and to Jyoti Patel for a fantastic read. ☺️