On her 29th birthday, Brooklyn-based publishing professional Lila De gets a phone call not with birthday greetings but with a stunner of a surprise: Her maternal grandfather has died and left her the sprawling, dilapidated family estate in Kolkata. Despite being on the verge of a big promotion, Lila, who hasn’t been back to India in a decade, is compelled by the terms of the will to return to her ancestral home—which is still occupied by many of her relatives, including her mother, with whom Lila has had a tense and distant relationship. Numerous dramas play out in the expansive narrative of The Magnificent Ruins (16 hours), whose subplots and vast array of supporting characters are adeptly brought to life by Deepa Samuel’s steady narration. Readers who enjoy audiobooks that transport them to evocative locales will find much to savor here.
Read our starred review of the print version of The Magnificent Ruins.
