The Konkans

Starred review from October 15, 2007
D’Souza follows up the promise of Whiteman
(2006) with this moving portrait of a Indian-American family. Narrator Francisco D’Sai descends partially from a small group of Konkans, former Hindus converted to Catholicism by the Portuguese in the 16th century. His American mother, Denise, met and married his father, Lawrence, while working as a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1960s. The couple moves to Chicago, where Francisco is born and where Lawrence is obsessed with assimilation and achieving the American dream. In contrast, Francisco’s uncle Sam, whom Denise insists they sponsor to America, is a much more soulful man who retains his Indian identity. Sam tells fabulous tales of Konkan culture and is adored by both Francisco and Denise, whose infatuation with India persists even as her love for Lawrence dwindles. The author moves deftly from character to character, detailing Denise’s Peace Corps days and subsequent suburban boredom, Lawrence’s grim struggle up the corporate ladder (his mission to earn acceptance by a country club is particularly sad) and Sam’s search for purpose amid his troubling love for Denise. D’Souza puts a fresh spin on the theme of cultural alienation, and he achieves something even more universal as he shows how the characters are alone together in their family.