Some People by Parini Shroff: When Family Becomes Complicated
Some relationships begin with affection. Others begin because two people happen to love the same person. Some People by Parini Shroff explores the second kind through Malti Patel and Nathan Whitlock, a mother-in-law and son-in-law who would happily avoid one another if circumstances allowed it.
Malti is recovering from a would-be assault that has left her bruised and concussed. She insists she is fine, but her doctor orders seven days of in-home supervision. Her daughter, Kavya, is studying in India, so the responsibility falls to Nathan. He is considerate enough to help and unfortunate enough to be in the process of divorcing Kavya.
Neither of them welcomes the arrangement. Malti does not need Nathan fussing over her, and Nathan hardly wants to spend a week with his soon-to-be-ex-mother-in-law. Nevertheless, he moves in to help. Forced proximity soon brings old resentments, uncomfortable silences, and long-buried questions into the open.
The Person Between Them
Although Kavya is away, she remains at the emotional center of the Some People novel. Malti and Nathan both believe they know her better than anyone else. They are also the two people who have hurt her so deeply that she has withdrawn from them.
Her strained relationships with them reveal different forms of love and acceptance, along with the damage that good intentions can cause. Nathan must confront the communication problems in his marriage, while Malti begins to reckon with Kavya’s emotional baggage from childhood. Their conversations expose dysfunctional family dynamics shaped by cultural differences, intergenerational conflict, and years of misunderstanding.
This is not simply a story about deciding who was right. It is about understanding different perspectives and recognizing that one person’s care can feel like pressure to someone else. Kavya’s absence forces Malti and Nathan to see that loving someone does not always mean listening to them.
Book Details
Title: Some People (Buy on Amazon)
Author: Parini Shroff
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Pages: 300 (Paperback)
Price: ₹599 ₹478
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Publication Date: August 18, 2026
ISBN-13: 978-9373075266
At 300 pages, the novel appears well suited to readers looking for an emotionally rich story that does not demand an enormous commitment. Its unusual central relationship also gives it a distinctive place among contemporary fiction books about fractured families.
What Does It Take to Begin Again?
At its heart, this is a story about taking responsibility for your actions. Malti and Nathan can list each other’s faults easily, but repairing their relationships with Kavya requires them to examine their own behavior. Before forgiveness and reconciliation can begin, they must acknowledge what they have failed to understand.
That makes the novel particularly relevant to anyone who has wondered how to rebuild trust in a relationship. There is no easy formula for letting go of resentment or overcoming family estrangement. Nor can anyone learn how to repair a damaged relationship without first accepting that an apology may not erase the original hurt.
These themes could have made the story unbearably heavy, but Parini Shroff balances them with humor. Malti’s fierce independence clashes naturally with Nathan’s determination to do the right thing. Their reluctance to tolerate one another gives the novel an entertaining tension even as their conversations move toward more painful territory.
Why You Should Read It
Readers who enjoy family drama books and books about forgiveness will find plenty to interest them here. The novel also promises to appeal to those drawn to Indian American fiction and books about mother-daughter relationships, particularly stories that explore how childhood experiences continue to shape adult lives.
The relationship between Malti and Nathan makes the premise especially refreshing. Fiction often places a romantic couple, siblings, or parents and children at the center of a family crisis. A soon-to-be-former son-in-law caring for his injured mother-in-law offers a different way to explore loyalty, obligation, and the complicated bonds created through marriage.
Readers familiar with other Parini Shroff books may also recognize her ability to place humor beside serious emotional and social questions. Some People by Parini Shroff is ultimately about the stories families tell themselves and what happens when those stories no longer hold together.
Can seven unwanted days under the same roof undo years of hurt? Perhaps not. But they may give two stubborn people enough time to stop defending themselves, start listening, and take the first uncertain step toward forgiveness.
If You Liked This Post…
If Some People left you thinking about how culture, memory, and inherited beliefs shape our lives, our previous recommendation approaches those ideas through faith and sacred places. Bhaktas & Kshetras by Vinay L Varanasi brings together temple legends, devotees’ experiences, and the enduring bond between belief and place. One book examines what families struggle to say, while the other explores what sacred spaces help people understand. Both look beneath the surface to uncover the invisible forces that guide human lives.