A sweet book set in bustling Chennai, a place I used to travel to often. I enjoyed the descriptions of the scenery, but found the story itself a little slow,

A charming and gently observed story about the tenants of a small apartment block in Chennai, India. The characters, Mani, Kamala, Reva and Jason, are all relatable in their own way, and each of them have “minor disturbances” to navigate, such as family issues, career dilemmas and issues in their personal lives, as well as the future ownership of their apartment block, which has been targeted by a large developer.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Set in Chennai India, the book is set around the residents that live in the Grand Life Apartments. Kamala, Revathi also known as Reva, Jason and Mani.

This being set in India, and the description of the landscape, gardens, sounds and smells took me right back remembering past holidays in Goa India.
There is a lot of mention of food and cooking, and I spent most of the time drooling and wanting to eat it.
Because I was reading this book on my kindle I had the advantage of looking up the food type to see what it was, and was made with and also words that I am not familiar with.

A pleasant read that made me want to go there.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

4.3 Stars
One Liner: Character-driven and a slice-of-life novel (a worthy debut)

Grand Life Apartments is a middle-class apartment block in Chennai. With its beautiful gardens and open space, it is home to different people navigating various stages of their lives.
Kamala is a widowed dentist and a typical middle-aged conservative woman whose daughter is studying at Oxford. She and her friend Sundu share a wonderful relationship. Revathi is a thirty-two-year-old working professional living on her own and dealing with her mother’s non-stop calls about getting married. Jason, the British chef, moved to India after a breakup with his girlfriend and hopes to restart his life in a new country. Mani is the owner of the apartments, an old man writing a book about the city.
The residents lead parallel lives, which get entwined over time. And when a construction company threatens to tear apart their home, they may have to do more than passively move on from one day to another.
The story comes from the limited third-person POV of Kamala, Revathi, and Jason, with a couple of chapters from Mani.

My Thoughts:
As always, I was hesitant and curious when I requested the book. (My reviews for India-based books begin with the same disclaimer). However, this one proved to be a good choice in many ways.
This is a character-driven novel with no specific ending. It’s not something I like in my novels, but this book is an exception. The characters are based on their stereotypes but are rounded and complete. Their emotions, feelings, vulnerabilities, fears, decisions, etc., are realistic and align with their arcs.
The exact period of the setting is not mentioned (trust me to read such books back-to-back). It seems to be around the early 2000s at the most (and definitely not after 2010). Fortunately, I could relate to it, given my nationality.
The characters are your average people with personal issues trying to find ways to make their lives better, handle the changes around them, and still be hopeful about the future. These are the kind we see around. They could be us and our friends!
The writing is easy to read and has some quirky metaphors. I’m not sure how the pacing will work for others, but for me, it went well. I could read at a steady pace and didn’t feel bored even when the plot was slow to progress.
As such, there isn’t any plot. The central premise of the threat from the construction company is more of a subplot and is established only at the midway point. Even then, there is no action. We don’t see any drastic change in personalities or social activism. There’s more passivity than action. While it keeps the story realistic and true to life, it can also disappoint readers expecting something dramatic. My only issue was that the case gets resolved too easily (we know how the courts work). (Rewording the blurb to remove the focus from the threat would set better expectations.)
The setting, Chennai, comes alive on the pages. Though I haven’t been there, I know enough (and many Indian cities are similar, sans the beaches) about the buildings, weather, Saravana Bhavan, and food!
Oh, man, the food in this one made me so hungry! I read after dinner, but the descriptions of my South Indian dishes made my tummy rumble in approval. Here, I’ll have to mention a scene where Jason makes jackfruit short beard and offers them to young Salim. The kiddo says, “Of all the things you can make with jackfruit, you choose to make biscuits?” (paraphrased), and I was like hi-fi dude, couldn’t have said it better.
The side characters, Sundu (Soundavalli), Salim (this kid is going places, I tell you!), Mani, Reva’s mother, Karthik, and Lakshmi are also well-etched. Even though Reva’s mother is the most stereotypical character, there’s no exaggeration as such. That’s the only way she knows to express her concerns (generational conditioning, you could say).
Of course, Jason is an absolute sweetheart. He was neither an ‘eww… dirty Indians’ tourist nor an ‘oh, such potential for activism’ foreigner.
I love that we don’t have any unwanted romance or love blooming between the characters. There is a possibility of it but things may or may not happen. There’s no attempt to force connections. Rather, how the characters come to know each other and become friends (despite their differences) feels very organic (and much like how things work in real life).

To summarize, Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments is a quiet and gentle book that celebrates middle-class Indians and their lives. If you want a book that shows a more human (and realistic) side of India, pick this one and go with the flow.
Thank you, NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton, and Coronet, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
***
P.S.: I admit I didn’t pay much attention to the cover until I finished the book. The details reflect the characters and the premise without being in the face. I love how artfully this is done.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It is exceptionally well-written and features excellent character development. The story follows the lives of four individuals residing in an apartment complex, as they navigate through their various struggles and challenges. I highly recommend this book.

I loved this book. Very well written and great character development. Follows the lives of 4 residents in a apartment block and theie trials and tribulations. Would recommend.

A marvellous tale of an apartment block and all who live there.

Grand Life Apartments is a block of flats in Chennai, India, with a diverse group of residents. Each live their own lives but slowly they get to know each other and we get to know their hopes and dreams. When there is a threat to their way of life, they get together in the hope of protecting their homes.

For a debut novel, this is a corker! Wonderful characters, each with an enigmatic back story but very much living in the present day. Lots of fun with a serious side now and then. For anyone with an interest in their fellow humans, this is a goldmine of thought and entertainment. Highly recommended and, in my opinion, easily meriting all five sparkling stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

This book is just delightful - so charming, warm and sweet. I only wish I could have spent more time with these characters - I would love a sequel!

This heartwarming story has a wonderful Indian setting. The descriptions of Chennai took me right back there! As a mother of grown up children who left home years ago I really identified with Kamala, her story moved me to tears at times. I highly recommend this delightful book.

I found this book a little slow paced and took me a while to get into, once I did I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of South India and Indian life, particularly the food, which does get mentioned a lot. Character based and it was nice to get to know them but it didn’t feel like that much happened tbh and even the fight with the construction company kind of got lost along the way. Was a nice read though. Thank you the publisher and Netgalley for this early proof.

I will preface my comments by saying that Hema really transports you to India. I almost felt like I was in Chennai, however the storyline really was distinctly average in my opinion. Not much happens - and this felt more like a few days in the life, rather than a real story. A good base to work from but lacking any real oomphf.

This is a real gem, transporting you to life in India, particularly Chennai.

The characters are varied, larger than life, .with great interaction.

You can literally smell and taste the food, which life appears to revolve around.

A delicious, sorry for the pun story..

Slow-paced and character-driven, Minor Disturbances at Grand Life Apartments by Hema Sukumar tells a story about three people who live in an apartment building in Chennai, highlighting the intricacies of human interaction.

Summary: Kamala struggles with her daughter moving away to study in a UK universiy. Revathi "Reva" has an awful job and a mother who keeps yapping at her to get married. Jason is a chef from London who has come to Chennai to run away from heartbreak. The three live in Grand Life Apartments and interact.

Tropes/Genres:
• general fiction
• neighbours
• food ;))
• set in Chennai, India
• talks about a daughter coming out
• talks about the pressure regarding marriage put on families by societal expectations

Review: While I finished this book in one sitting, I felt that the book was a little mundane. What's a key takeaway from this book? What is the moral of the story? This book felt a bit more like a slice-of-life read, focusing on the way humans react to the people around them and the situation they are put in.

Narrated from the third-person POVs of three characters, for the most part, this story follows the experiences of Kamala, Revathi and Jason. I understood their struggles as portrayed in the book. I won't elaborate because that would spoil the book, being character-focused and all, but the characters are realistic. I enjoyed the writing style and the themes portrayed in this book, though they could've been developed more deeply as well.

I think I would've liked it if the threat of their apartment building being demolished was touched upon more. This plot point probably only appeared for less than 5% of the book. It would've been nice to see a bit more of it to balance out the character-focused aspect of the story, especially when it sounded like it was the main conflict in the blurb.

Such a book is certainly not for everyone, being slow-paced and heavily character-driven. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy books that are not very plot-driven. Many readers prefer following a plot line; if you're one of them, this is not the book for you. But if you don't mind character-driven books, this book is certainly worth a shot.

This is a delightfully engaging, gentle, humorous, and vibrant debut from Hema Sukumar that immerses the reader in a blend of modern and traditional India, covering questions of identity, culture, independence, belonging, gender, sexism, and the glorious Indian cuisine that will have your mouth watering. Set in Chennai on the coast, in a understated manner, we learn of the lives and relationships of the residents of an apartment owned by the kind Mani. Dentist and single mother Kamala is on the cusp of retirement, is friends with the lawyer Sundu, her life revolves around her daughter Lakshmi studying in Oxford, England, but not all is plainsailing here. 32 year old Revathi is a engineer who wants a different life from the marriage that is expected of her, and chef Jason fled Britain after heartbreak, escaping to Chennai.

Each character is offbeat, complex, and distinct, facing their own particular emotional landscape, issues and challenges. There are everyday joys and friendships amidst a background of the daily lives of the community, and the sights, scents and sounds of Chennai. They all come together to stand against the threat that comes from a construction company. There is warmth and a vitality to the narrative that makes this such a wonderful, light and atmospheric read that I am sure will appeal to a wide range of readers, those unfamiliar with India will find it an educational and informative novel too. This debut definitely has me looking forward to Sukumar's next book! Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

A really joyful book that really transports you to another world. It shows the difficulties in finding a good blend of tradition and modern that's faced by some women. It describes the importance of culture and heritage as well as being accepting of change.
The characters are all delightful. So different and yet they all compliment each other as a group.
A charming book that offers some much needed escapism.

This was such a feel good, slice of life read with characters, locations and situations I related to so much!
I was drawn to it by the title which turned out to be totally apt!

Set in an apartment building in Chennai as the name suggests, this story is about the owner and three tenants of the building.

Mani, the owner is a gentle, friendly person with a passion for gardening. He has,for company, his tenants, Kamala, Reva and Jason.

Kamala is instantly recognizable as the quintessential middle aged Chennai maami;traditional, strictly vegetarian, prays to a different God at home or in the temple based on the situation, loves to cook and feed and bemoans the loss of a simpler time. She is a soon to retire dentist who has been a single mom to her only child Lakshmi who is now studying at Oxford and whose arrival annually is a much awaited event in her life. She's simple and loving with a childhood best friend Sundu(Soundavalli), a busy lawyer who is independent and always encouraging her to step out of her comfort zone. When Lakshmi reveals a truth that she cannot comprehend at all, her dreams for the future seem to be crumbling.

Reva(Revati) is at 32, a software engineer who is being bombarded by her mother to choose a 'good boy' and get married. She struggles to assert herself in her work place and isn't sure she wants to commit to marriage. Her relationship with her mother, the frustration mingled with guilt that she isn't doing what her mom wants, the sudden burst of affection for the only parent she has, are all so familiar and will be to those who have been in her place.

Jason, the third tenant, is a chef from London who impulsively travelled to Chennai to get over a completely unexpected breakup. He absorbs and imbibes the atmosphere and culture of this place so far and different from home and is casually enclosed into the fold by the others. As he experiences power cuts and new scents and traffic, he tries out South Indian kootu and payasam from a cookbook and presents the dishes for Kamala's approval. The place and people soothe him and he feels a sense of belonging.

While the residents are grappling with their individual issues and finding moments of happiness and peace in the easy camaraderie and friendship that develops among those who live in close proximity, they become aware of a construction company threatening to take over their home and raze it and their shared fondness for the place and their lives sees them mount a counter attack.

The impromptu meetups that the four characters have, the delicious dosa, idly, ghee roast, mor kootan and other South Indian dishes they cook and share and enjoy, the way they are there for each other, are all very feel good. The setting and locations have been described authentically. The tone is light and fresh and has an underlying humour that comes through very well in the way daily routines unique to the place are described.
Uncles and aunties randomly advising Reva that 'only career is not enough', Kamala and Sundu sharing parenting woes, auto drivers demanding exorbitant fares.. all of this paints such well known scenes. Reading this made me appreciate the feeling of being seen and heard that seeing my own lived experiences within the pages of a book can only give.

I was smiling throughout my reading of this book and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for this ARC.

ETA : Special mention needs to be made of the apartment cat who is named... Poons! I found this and the cat's attitude hilarious!

Hema Sukumar paints a vivid and beautiful setting of Chennai, South India and introduces a diverse set of developed characters whose individual and group struggles, and daily lives are highlighted throughout the novel. Sukumar touches on various themes such as unconditional and familial love, generational differences, but sometimes the exploration of these themes felt slightly underdeveloped and superficial.
Whilst I enjoyed the overall writing style for the most part, and loved the vivid setting (and descriptions of food), the actual story felt rather slow paced and mundane, to the point that the overarching conflict with the construction company was lost and almost pointless, which would be fine if it weren't highlighted as the main conflict in the synopsis.

I was sent a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get settled into this story but I eventually got involved in the characters, who all live in and around a particular apartment complex. It was a very relaxing read, and it explained life in South India very well. The author is clearly very much into the food there, as this is written about so much. Overall, a nice little story. Thanks.

#NetGalley #MinorDisturbanciesAtGrandLifeApartments

"A warm-hearted debut novel set in the beautiful coastal city of Chennai, for fans of Alexander McCall Smith, Joanna Nell and Graeme Simsion" says the advertising text, and I felt addressed - I would also like to be on the coast of Chennai now , and I've always loved McCall Smith's novels. A little side note right at the beginning: I actually found both writers (Sukumar and McCall Smith) to have a similarly pleasant writing style.
Okay, but now to the book: We are in the "Grand Life Apartments", a quiet, middle-class condominium. Mani, the owner, inherited the property from his parents a long time ago and loves tending the gardens. This is where the residents of the house meet again and again: There is Kamala, a dentist, about to retire, with her friend, the lawyer Sundu. Kamala idolizes her daughter Lakshmi, who is studying in England, and yet no longer seems to really get along with her; we have Revathi, the young engineer who has chosen modern life without a husband and is regularly reminded by her mother that she will soon be too old for the marriage market, and then there's Jason, the young Englishman, who fled head over heels to India after his girlfriend dumped him. Each has their own problems to contend with, but when a shady real estate shark appears, all residents must stick together and stand up for their home and community. The "minor disturbances" threaten all of their homes, and so they all stand up together and fight….
I really liked the novel 😊. I found it very charmingly, I really like the warm-hearted and vivid narrative style, and I found all the protagonists very sympathetic. I also found some insights into the lives of modern Indian middle and upper class very interesting. This is where tradition and modernity meet, and that was kind of bizarre and funny for me: on the one hand, we have very well-educated young Indian women who are really good at their jobs, but on the other hand, we also have the absolute ideal of marriage and motherhood, and the Indian marriage market is raging, as Reva has experienced for years. Arranged marriages are the order of the day, and I found it quite interesting how matter-of-factly modern women talk about it. I see this in a completely neutral way, and when I read it I was reminded of TV shows like “Marriage at First Sight” (TV matchmaking made in Germany). Anyway, I found it fascinating.
With the dentist Kamala and the lawyer Sundu, we also have two women in top jobs who are self-employed and independent, and yet at least Kamala is still very connected to traditional values. Which isn't bad per se, but here, too, several worlds collide.
But the ladies manage to take the best of all worlds with them and to lead THEIR life - at least that's what I took with me 😉.
I really enjoyed reading the book, it was really a visit to Chennai - I confess, I've never been there, but the author took me with her and told it so wonderfully, I almost smelled the flowers and was there 😉. Loved it!
I am very happy to recommend the book!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy!

I was extremely excited when I received the ARC for Minor Disturbances. I lived in Chennai for close to ten years, and it was surprising and heartwarming to see a book set there appear on my Netgalley dashboard.

Hema Sukumar has done an excellent job of bringing the city and the inhabitants of Grand Life Apartments to life. Some of the characters reminded me of people in my own life. Sundu especially reminds me of my favourite aunt. The setting makes for an extremely cosy slice-of-life story. And most of the plot revolves around everyday things. As someone who lived in the city and still has friends and family there, the characters are very vivid and relatable.

However, the overarching plot - that of the construction company wanting to buy the Apartments - was a bit contrived. Of course, it is a thing that happens and it is realistic. However, the tone set by the rest of the novel is more about the ordinary day-to-day, whereas this plot point sticks out in a more dramatic and almost threatening manner. If you look past that as well and accept it, the payoff for all the buildup and drama is simply not there because the ending (a court case) is rushed and the VERDICT IS PROCLAIMED OFF SCREEN (off the pages, I suppose). I understand that it is the plot point that brings all of the characters together. However, I think an illness or some kind of family rejection for Mani would have worked in much the same way to bring the residents together. A completely personal opinion, of course.

Regardless, the book was an utter joy to read. Sundu was my favourite character. But all of them did worm their way into my heart. I loved the different relationships they formed with one another. It was extremely endearing.

One thing I noticed in other reviews is that the dialogue is stilted or unnatural in some parts. I do have to say that to me, as an Indian, it felt quite natural. It was a very normal, Indian way of speaking. Of course, you do have to account for the fact that yes, this book is written in English whereas the characters would be speaking in Tamil most of the time in their universe. So, there is an element of translating that Tamil speech into English, which could sound stilted to non-Indian English speakers, but definitely felt authentic to me.

I will 100% be buying this book when it gets released.

Rating: 4.25/5