Presenter of
the National Book Awards
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Presenter of
the National Book Awards
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Sarah Thankam Mathews grew up between Oman and India, immigrating to the United States at seventeen. Her work has been published in places including AGNI, SSENSE, and Best American Short Stories. More about this author >
From the publisher:
Graduating into the long maw of an American recession, Sneha is one of the fortunate ones. She’s moved to Milwaukee for an entry-level corporate job that, grueling as it may be, is the key that unlocks every door: she can pick up the tab at dinner with her new friend Tig, get her college buddy Thom hired alongside her, and send money to her parents back in India. She begins dating women—soon developing a burning crush on Marina, a beguiling and beautiful dancer who always seems just out of reach.
But before long, trouble arrives. Painful secrets rear their heads; jobs go off the rails; evictions loom. Sneha struggles to be truly close and open with anybody, even as her friendships deepen, even as she throws herself headlong into a dizzying romance with Marina. It’s then that Tig begins to draw up a radical solution to their problems, hoping to save them all.
A beautiful and capacious novel rendered in singular, unforgettable prose, All This Could Be Different is a wise, tender, and riveting group portrait of young people forging love and community amidst struggle, and a moving story of one immigrant’s journey to make her home in the world.
All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews is a powerful debut novel about friendship, queer love, and succeeding as a young adult in the working world. Mathews skillfully dramatizes a story of a young immigrant in difficult and uncertain times in prose elegantly rendered with precision and detail. All This Could Be Different is a funny, propulsive, and emotionally-charged gem of a book.
Sarah Thankam Mathews at the 2022 National Book Awards Finalist Reading
