2025 Booker Longlist The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

Next up for our panel is The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by prior award winner Kiran Desai. Given the size of the novel, only two of our panelists managed to read this novel before the shortlist announcement. Keep reading to see what our panel had to say about this book.

Kiran Desai is an acclaimed Indian author best known for her novel The Inheritance of Loss, which won the 2006 Man Booker Prize. Born in India and educated in England and the United States, Desai often explores themes of migration, identity, and the clash between tradition and modernity. Her work is celebrated for its sharp wit, lyrical prose, and insightful reflections on globalization and belonging.

Book Synopsis from Booker website: When Sonia and Sunny first glimpse each other on an overnight train, they are immediately captivated, yet also embarrassed by the fact that their grandparents had once tried to matchmake them, a clumsy meddling that only served to drive Sonia and Sunny apart.  
  
Sonia, an aspiring novelist who recently completed her studies in the snowy mountains of Vermont, has returned to her family in India, fearing she is haunted by a dark spell cast by an artist to whom she had once turned for intimacy and inspiration. Sunny, a struggling journalist resettled in New York City, is attempting to flee his imperious mother and the violence of his warring clan. Uncertain of their future, Sonia and Sunny embark on a search for happiness together as they confront the many alienations of our modern world.  
  
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.

Jen’s Thoughts: Trying to speed read through 600+ pages of rather dense material is not the way that one should read this novel. Unfortunately, that’s how I had to read it and that fast-paced reading speed detracted from my overall experience of the novel. This is a monster novel written by a master class writer. It took Desai over 20 years to write the book and having read it, I can understand why. It’s a bit of a challenge to describe it. It is a family saga but it’s much more than that. It contains a little magical realism, stories within stories, contemplation of art and real life, tensions between western-eastern lifestyles, themes of identity, and a brilliant blend of multiple genres. At times it verges on metafiction and in fact several experiences of characters in the book seem to parallel the author’s own experiences (perhaps at times related to the writing of this book). The novel is not just about the loneliness of Sonia and Sunny but about the loneliness of every character in the book. And there are no minor characters. Every character is brilliantly fleshed out and part of a comprehensive whole centered around the theme of loneliness and alienation.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 1.5/2
Total: 18.5

Tracy’s Thoughts: This poor book deserves so much more attention than I gave to it! It’s so hard to fly through a book that is to be enjoyed at a more leisurely pace. But I did enjoy it. Desai is such a wonderful writer- every chapter, every character, every feeling, description—- all so real. Even the magic dog. Re: Ilan: what is with the toxic men on the list this year? Ugh.
My only big downside with this book is that it’s just too long. Editing is a thing.

Writing quality:5 /5
Originality:4 /5
Character development:4 /4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 17/20

Rankings
1. Endling: 18.8
2. Seascraper: 18.25
3. Audition: 17.88

4. The loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: 17.75
5. Universality: 14.5
6. Flesh: 14.4
7. The South: 14.25
8. Flashlight: 14.2
9. One Boat: 13
10. Misinterpretation: 11.75
11. The Rest of Our Lives: 10.75
12. Love forms: 10.5

Have you read it?  What do you think? Want to try it for yourself? You can purchase your copy here: The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny