Blog tour: The Things That We Lost

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Welcome to the blog tour for The Things That We Lost by Jyoti Patel!

More about the book…

This moving coming of age story explores what it means to be a person of colour in Britain today, discussing themes of identity and the stories that we tell ourselves to manage trauma.

Nik yearns to know more about his father, who died before he was born. His mother, Avani, held hostage by her guilt surrounding his death, refuses to share any information with her son. Nik is forced to create a fragmented image of his father, pulled together from hushed whispers at family gatherings and photos stolen from his mother’s bedroom.

When his grandfather dies, secrets are revealed, and everything Nik thinks he knows about his father is turned on its head. Nik makes it his mission to discover the truth about his father and the circumstances of his death, uncovering painful truths in the process.

The Things That We Lost is a beautifully tender exploration of family, loss, and the lengths we go to, to protect the ones we love.

More about the author…

Jyoti Patel was born in Paris to British Indian parents and grew up in North West London. She is a graduate of the University of East Anglia’s Prose Fiction MA and winner of the 2021 #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize. Her writing has previously been published as part of We Present's ‘Literally’ series and in the anthology for the 2022 Bristol Short Story Prize, for which she was shortlisted. The Things That We Lost is her debut novel.

My impressions…

What a wonderful debut! There are so many things that I loved about this book… the London setting, the dual timeline and dual narrative, the insights into Gujarati culture and the exploration of family relationships definitely ticked a lot of boxes. I am also fascinated by novels that look at immigration and themes of identity and belonging, and the author has done this superbly. Highly recommended!

Three words to describe it. Emotional. Warm. Engrossing.

Do I like the cover? Yes, it’s a stunning cover.

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, this is the author’s debut novel. Yes, wow!

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