The brightest of futures

After a scandalous incident, parents rally behind their kids.

- BY JOSIE SHAPIRO

If Jonathan Franzen attempted to write an American version of Brannavan Gnanalingam's Ockham-shortlisted Sprigs, I imagine the outcome would be similar to Sameer Pandya's sophomore novel. Our Beautiful Boys is a captivating examination of contemporary Californian families shocked by a brutal act of violence.

When Vikram Shastri is scouted by an high school American football coach, his parents Gita and Gautam are divided about whether to let him play “a team sport that half the school thought represented everything that was wrong with America and the other half supported with a certain lust on Friday nights”. Gautam is against the “brutal” sport, while Gita is more supportive, because she thinks playing this game will give Vikram’s college applications a bit more sparkle. He needs all the help he can get, Gita believes; she believes that as a young Indian man in modern-day America, the odds are stacked against him.