The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

The Loneliness of Sonia and SunnySHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2025 KIRKUS PRIZE FINALIST NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER TIMEs 100 Must Read Books of 2025 Named a Best Book of 2025 by The Globe and Mail New York Times The New Yorker The Washington Post Financial Times Barnes & Noble Amazon Editors Kirkus The Telegraph Lit Hub Daily Mail The Observer A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and yearsan epic of love and family, India

SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE • 2025 KIRKUS PRIZE FINALIST • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • TIME’s 100 Must-Read Books of 2025 • Named a Best Book of 2025 by The Globe and Mail • New York Times • The New Yorker • The Washington Post • Financial Times • Barnes & Noble • Amazon Editors • Kirkus • The Telegraph •Lit Hub • Daily Mail • The Observer

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss

“A transcendent triumph . . . not so much a novel as a marvel.” —The New York TimesBook Review

“A spectacular literary achievement. I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever.” —Ann Patchett

“Devastating, lyrical, and deeply romantic . . . an unmitigated joy to read.” —Khaled Hosseini

“Vast and immersive. . . . No detail, large or small, seems to escape Desai’s attention, every character (in a huge cast) feels fully realized,and the writing moves with consummate fluency between an array of modes: philosophical, comic, earnest, emotional, and uncanny.” —2025 Booker Prize Jury (Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Chris Power, Kiley Reid, Roddy Doyle, and Sarah Jessica Parker)

“Desai exceeds the expectations of a literary novel, weaving a multitude of characters, storylines and incisive ideas into a single cohesive masterpiece.” —The Globe and Mail

One of the Most Anticipated Books of the Fall: The New York Times, Oprah Daily, Time, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Book Riot, Publishers Weekly, and more

When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once triedto matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that served only to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.

Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India. She fears that she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence ofhis warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel ofideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.