TELL ME HOW TO BE

Narrator Vikas Adam does an excellent job of balancing the angst- ridden Akash with the mourning Renu in this mother-and-son story of love and loss. Adam treats both of them tenderly as the story explores the sale of their family home after the death of their father and husband. Adam is pensive, thoughtful, and ruminating as the 20-something Akash, who is hiding his sexuality and boyfriend from his mother. Adam demonstrates his range in Renu's chapters, which he delivers in a believable, measured voice that sounds like that of an aging matron. As mother and son confront the memories in the material goods they try to shed, Adam makes listeners care for their internal and external conflicts. Fans of diasporic literature will be engrossed. M.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2022]