Splendor of Silence, The

‘Indu Sundaresan expertly blends together history, memorable characters, and the sights, colors and smells of India to create a hugely compelling novel. It is, quite literally, a feast for the senses’ —David Davidar, author of The House of Blue Mangoes

May 1942. Set over four searing pre-monsoon days. Sam Hawthorne, a twenty-five-year-old U.S. Army captain, arrives at the princely state of Rudrakot in search of his missing brother, Mike, carrying with him wounds from combat in Burma and several secrets. But Sam’s mission is threatened by the unlikeliest of sources—he falls hopelessly in love with Mila, daughter of the local political agent. Mila, unexpectedly attracted to Sam, nurtures a secret of her own and finds herself torn between loyalty to her family and Sam.

The Splendor of Silence opens twenty-one years later with Olivia, Sam’s daughter, receiving a trunk of treasures from India, along with a letter from an unknown narrator that finally fills all the silences of her childhood—telling her the story of her parents’ passionate and enduring love for each other that throws them in the path of racial prejudice, nationalist intrigue, and the explosive circumstances of a country and a society on the brink of independence from British rule.

Sweeping and poignant, reminiscent of Paul Scott’s Raj Quartet novels, The Splendor of Silence is a heartrending tale of love and clashing cultures in a time of war.