Gowda good to go for October book club
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2025 (347 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Free Press Book Club, McNally Robinson Booksellers are pleased to welcome Toronto-born, California-based author Shilpi Somaya Gowda to the next virtual meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. to read from and discuss her new novel A Great Country.
Published by Doubleday Canada in April 2025, the core of A Great Country focuses on a three-ish week span of time in the life of the Shahs, an Indian family who have recently relocated to a very affluent area of California called Pacific Hills.
Priya and Ashok Shah have been in the United States for two decades, welcomed three children (Deepa, Maya and Ajay), built up their careers and, with the move, are trying to give their kids every advantage in life.
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
When 12-year-old Ajay — who is autistic, but undiagnosed — innocently flies a drone he built near the local airport and is consequently detained by police, the Shah’s world is turned upside down.
The family then bands together to help Ajay process what is happening in the lead-up to his arraignment, while also reflecting on police violence and their own individual places in the world that Pacific Hills represents.
Though the real time covered in the novel is brief, Gowda writes from the perspective of each Shah family member, opening up the narrative and covering years’ worth of relationships, emotions and motives from the past which provides necessary context.
Gowda’s pacing is wonderful, drawing out early scenes for pages upon pages and keeping the reader in suspense, while cutting the climax of the novel unexpectedly short. And while the content of A Great Country is dense and challenging in many ways, Gowda writes with an inherent warmth, ultimately making this an approachable and easy read.
Gowda will join Free Press reporter Aaron Epp, McNally Robinson Booksellers general manager Andrea Torgerson and Free Press audience engagement manager Erin Lebar. She will read from A Great Country, discuss the book’s themes and suggestions and field questions from viewers and readers.
A Great Country
Copies of A Great Country are available to purchase at McNally Robinson Booksellers; there’s no cost to join the book club or virtual discussion. Video of the meeting will be available for replay on the Free Press YouTube channel following the event.
To join the club and for more information on current and future book picks, visit Book Club.
