PARINI SHROFF: SOME PEOPLE

Local author night on Park Street

Books Inc. in Alameda is a good fit for a summer author visit. The shop has that easy Park Street feel, with room to browse before the talk and a crowd that usually shows up ready to listen, ask questions, and stick around for a signed copy.

On Thursday, July 16, Parini Shroff comes through to celebrate Some People, her new novel about family, marriage, old wounds, and the awkward care we sometimes give to people we would rather avoid.

Shroff is the Bay Area author of The Bandit Queens, and she brings a sharp sense of humor to heavy subjects. For this appearance, she will be joined by Kate Schatz, a California writer known for the Rad Women books and her work with W. Kamau Bell.

The setup for the book is simple and messy in a very human way: Malti is injured and needs help at home, and the person who steps in is Nathan, her daughter’s soon to be former husband. Seven days together forces both of them to look at what happened with Kavya, and what they have been carrying for years.

If you like author conversations that feel personal, funny, and a little uncomfortable in the best way, this should be a worthwhile stop. Alameda book events tend to feel neighborly, and this one has two local writers who know how to talk about big themes without making the room feel stiff.

Event details
Books Inc., 1344 Park St, Alameda

Bestselling local author Parini Shroff is back at Books Inc. Mountain View, to celebrate her new book Some People!Parini will be joined by fellow beloved local author Kate Schatz!About the book:A man on the brink of divorce is forced to care for his injured future-ex-mother-in-law in this wise, witty, and heartfelt novel from the bestselling author of The Bandit Queens.Malti Patel is absolutely fine. Concussed and bruised, maybe, but fine. Certainly fine enough to not need her daughter's soon-to-be-ex-husband, Nathan Whitlock, playing nurse in her home while she recuperates.And yet, that's exactly the quandary in which she finds herself. Her doctor insists on in-home supervision for seven days, and with her daughter, Kavya, abroad at grad school in India, Nathan proves too much of a do-gooder to let Malti rehabilitate alone. Seven days of Nathan, the man divorcing her daughter for all manner of reasons: cultural misunderstanding, emotional walls, simmering hostility…most of them having to do with Kavya's baggage from her childhood. They want nothing to do with one another. But over the course of the week, as Malti grapples with the shadows of her past and Nathan ponders the wreckage of his marriage, they learn that they are the two people who know Kavya best—and the ones who have hurt her so deeply that she's left them both. Rich with emotional depth, Some People paints a nuanced portrait of love, forgiveness, and our timeless quest for understanding and acceptance. Parini Shroff is the bestselling author of The Bandit Queens, which was a Good Morning America Buzz Pick, a PEN Open Book finalist, and longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal and the Women's Prize for Fiction. She received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a practicing attorney and currently lives in the Bay Area. Kate Schatz is a feminist author from California. She's the New York Times bestselling author of Do the Work: An Anti-Racist Activity Book, with W. Kamau Bell, and the "Rad Women" book series (including Rad American Women A-Z, Rad Women Worldwide, and Rad American History A-Z). Her book of fiction, Rid of Me: A Story, was published as part of the cult-favorite 33 1/3 series.