The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny – Kiran Desai

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The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny follows two immigrants navigating the quiet ache of isolation in a globalised world. Sonia and Sunny are writers in America, out of tune with their partners and confessing to loneliness and homesickness for their native India. As they become more alienated, they begin to question their understanding of happiness, human connection, and where they belong. Through their intertwined yet separate lives, Desai explores love, identity, belonging and dislocation across continents.

There was so much life in this country that Sunny needn’t bother to create one. His life could be simply looking upon life.

RACHEL
●  The Loneliness of Sonia & Sunny is a vast, sweeping book of 670 pages with generations of characters, scenes set in various locations, and global and social events impacting the narrative. However, Desai has cleverly kept the intensity on a select few characters, mainly Sonia and Sunny, and let the support cast, world events and social commentaries swirl around them, impacting and boosting their development. It’s a structure that demonstrates how the small, intricate moments of being human are what really keep the world turning. Few authors could write a book of this scale without making it feel arduous, but Desai has hit the mark. Yes it takes an investment of time to get through it, but I know I’ll never forget this book.

SUZY
● This book is beautiful, sumptuous, heartening and delightful. I completely lost myself in it, and it was paced in such a way that every one of the 670 pages was enjoyable and unhurried. The wait for Kiran Desai’s next masterpiece was completely worth it and I would love to see her take out first place in the Booker. 

Published 2025
Hogarth
670 pages