I've never read a novel before in which every word was imbued with love. Hariharan portrays three sets of characters in three different contexts through the lens of caste. And she paints their stories with such love and affection that the reader cannot but help to read with those feelings at the center of her experience. There are stories here that resonate with recent media headlines about caste, but that is really a minor part of the book. It is the journey that these characters take and the obstacles they must confront as a result of casteism that is most important. And the way Hariharan tells these stories demands the reader's deep empathy. A truly remarkable novel.