Born Confused (Tanuja Desai Hidier)

This book had many things going against it when I picked it up.
- Teenage angst
- Desi tableau
- First person narrative

But, it blew me away. Dimple Lala is a shy, confused teenager. Confused about her looks, her parents, her friends, her nationality, and how she fits into the grand scheme of things. And then comes the summer when she turns 17, and its a long process of 'finding herself'.

My favorite characters in the story are her parents. Yes, you heard right. Quintessential depictions of first-generation Indian parents in the US, the on-and-off accents, the traditional clashes, the 'Hai Rabba' phases. For me, they made the story what it is. The situations where their reactions come from 'way out of left field', colorful stories of their heyday from their childhood friend Rhadha's perspective, and their worry about losing Dimple slowly are priceless parts of the storyline.

Dimple, Gwyn and Karsh weave in and out of the story fluidly. Her photography hobby, Karsh's DJ-ing, and Gwyn's 'wannabe-desi'ness allows the author to sneak in several metaphors that don't terribly detract from the storyline. I love how the author ties in Dimple's love for photography with her love for her grandfather.. the way they cannot speak a common language except through photographs.. so much so, that they end up communicating via pictures eventually!The phase where Gwyn and Dimple fall-out and need their own space to grow apart and come together again makes for a believable arc. Karsh, a sweet boy, for the most part is a fixture around whom the events unfold slowly.

There are, of course, some parts where you feel the story drags.. but they're mostly the above-mentioned metaphorical stuff. But, I always read a book and visualize it at the same time, which helped me almost 'watch' it like a beautiful montage in a musical-movie.

After a long time, a girl-meets-boy story (and desi, to boot!) has several layers to it, and makes for an interesting read. No stereotypes, no done-to-death cliches.

Oh, and the type-written letters for the so-called Secret Saturday Outings, simply priceless.

4 stars/5.