The Reading List

Mukesh is shocked to receive a message from Aleisha. She is excited that the Austen novel is just an engaging and just as inviting as the other titles on the list. Mukesh is just completing Life of Pi and finds inspiration in the character’s perilous and lonely journey to enlightenment. He feels that Pi’s journey was “arduous,” certainly, but “revelatory” as well (208).

Nilakshi joins him for dinner. While Mukesh takes a call from Aleisha, his daughter, Deepali, arrives unexpectedly just to check on him. When she sees Nilakshi, however, she is not happy and quickly departs.

Izzy toils over the books on the list. It has been two years since she first found the list. The more she reads and rereads the eight books, the more convinced she becomes that there are hidden messages in them. She obsesses over identifying who created the list and why they chose these eight books. She goes to the library and asks the librarian if he can cross-check the eight titles and come up with a list of patrons who have checked out all eight. The librarian declines. But Izzy is still happy—the list has given her an identity in this strange city, a place to go, and an introduction to dozens of characters and plots.

Aleisha reads Pride and Prejudice to her mother. As she reads to her, she thinks about how Zac compares to Austen’s Mr. Darcy. Although superficially the two share little—Zac is far more outgoing, given to laughter and razor-sharp wit—Aleisha sees the two share much.

Impulsively, Aleisha suggests to Aidan that the two hold an impromptu picnic for their mother. They did one a year ago, and Leilah had responded to the chance to get out of the house, even if just to the backyard. When Aidan agrees to pick up the food—he is on his way to the pharmacist to pick up medicine (which puzzles Aleisha)—Aleisha heads to the park and sits on a bench reading Austen. Zac suddenly sits down next to her and invites her to coffee. She declines, citing the picnic that afternoon. He gives her his business card.

The picnic is a disaster. At the last moment, standing in the doorframe heading outside, Leilah refuses to come out. She rampages through the kitchen, breaking dishes and upending food. Aleisha sees now that her mother needs professional help, maybe stronger medication. The picnic is ruined. Aleisha sends a text to Zac.

Mukesh heads to Vritti’s flat for lunch with his daughters. Almost immediately after he arrives, however, he senses his daughters’ agenda: They want to know about Nilakshi. They tell him there are rumors swirling about the temple about their relationship, gossip about all the time they spend together. Mukesh bristles at the suggestion that he is somehow disrespecting the memory of his wife:

‘I am lonely […] My wife died. My wife is gone. Her memory is still in here, and here’—he touched his heart, and his head—‘but she is gone. You all have your own lives, you are busy. You have no time for me unless I can be useful. And when you do, you just fuss and fuss and fuss. And you don’t listen to me! You don’t actually have conversations! [...] Nilakshi has been kind to me’ (235).

He departs, furious and embarrassed.

It is nighttime—Aleisha and Leilah finish watching the film Up. Aleisha remembers how the family had movie nights when she was growing up and how special those nights were. As the movie ends, Leilah asks a startled Aleisha about Zac: “Love at first sight?” (239). Aleisha downplays the relationship, and Leilah apologizes for making Aleisha spend so much time caring for her.

Leilah asks Aleisha why the reading list has become so important. Aleisha has never been much of a reader. Aleisha struggles with an answer—but she knows how these books have taught her important lessons about the need to fight (Mockingbird), the will to survive (Pi), and the call to do the right thing (The Kite Runner). She is not sure how Pride and Prejudice will fit in, but the unfolding courtship with Zac seems to correspond to the emotional dilemmas of Austen’s characters. But Aleisha still has no answer when her mother asks her who made the list.

It has been weeks since the messy lunch with his daughters. Mukesh tries to ignore the fact that his daughters have left no messages for him. He wonders if he should be worried over that, or over his reputation in the neighborhood.

Without warning, Vritti and Deepali arrive, bringing Priya with them. The daughters apologize for their ill-considered remarks about Nilakshi. As Mukesh forgives them and they hug, he thinks of the generous kindness of Atticus Finch and feels at peace. When Priya asks what he is reading, Mukesh tries to explain Pride and Prejudice. For him, the story of the Bennet sisters reminds him of the first time he met Naina. Theirs had been an arranged marriage; he did not meet her until the day of the wedding. But he remembers how sure he was right away that she was the right one for him: “I knew your ba was the only person right for me” (249).

Aleisha begins Little Women. She reads the blurb on the back cover before settling down to read to her mother. Mukesh told her that his granddaughter, Priya, is looking forward to the Alcott novel, as it explores “all the ways to be a young woman in an ever-changing world” (255). As Aleisha reads to Leilah, Aidan arrives home, late, banging around in the dark kitchen. Aleisha heads down and tells him that reading to their mother works. Aidan seems hopeful that with Aleisha’s help, their mother might get better. He tells her he has taken on “loads of overtime” (257), but that he is sure Aleisha will do “just fine without him” (257). Something disturbs Aleisha about her brother as he heads off to bed: “There was something on his mind” (257).

The next day, she waits for Mukesh to arrive at the library. She finds joy in their friendship. Mukesh never judges her; he never makes her feel anything but important. She never feels troubled or unhappy with him. When they talked about Aleisha’s father, Mukesh dismissed him for not seeing the value of his family, particularly the worth of his daughter.

Zac sends her a text. He offers to meet for coffee, saying he has “book business” he needs to talk with her about (259). Aleisha agrees, and Zac picks her up after work. She feels guilty for not being with her mother and wonders if Aidan is with her instead. As she rides with Zac, Aleisha enjoys their chat. As a last errand, she has Zac drive her to Mukesh’s flat and gives him Little Women, the book that has come in for him. She interrupts Mukesh having dinner with Nilakshi. The two invite Aleisha “and [her] young friend” to have dinner (263). Deciding that another hour won’t matter, Aleisha agrees.

As Aleisha and Zac settle down for dinner with Mukesh and Nilakshi, Aleisha wonders whether this evening with Zac is actually a date. Aleisha and Mukesh discuss his slow-motion reading of Pride and Prejudice. Mukesh is interested in Zac’s study of law and says how appropriate that field is, given Aleisha’s interest in law. Aleisha gently skirts the question of Mukesh’s relationship with Nilakshi, but Mukesh assures her that they only keep each other company.

After dinner, amid the chitchat, Aleisha compliments Mukesh’s gorgeous cushions on his sofa. Mukesh tells her his daughter made the cushion from one of his wife’s favorite saris: “Naina is always here” (269). Reluctantly, Aleisha tells Mukesh the two have to be going—they are already late getting Aleisha back to her mother.