After the Monsoon: A Novel of an Intermarriage

Meryam is a Jewish woman who saw the horrors of the Holocaust and now travels to India to meet her intended. Against all odds, she has decided to marry a Hindu man named Suresh. Their decision did not come lightly-and it will have serious cultural consequences-but they decide to go ahead with their wedding and discover love together. As expected, Suresh's family is scandalized. Not only has he married a woman of a different race, but she is also of a different religion. As Meryam learns the local culture, she must face the scathing comments from her father-in-law who considers her study of music akin to prostitution. Suresh causes discord, too, with secrets he never told his new wife. After the Monsoon is an unusual, cross-cultural love story. It depicts the human condition with twists and turns, as Meryam and Suresh attempt to rectify differences in the traditions of their youth. Travel to exotic India, find great love but also betrayal, and feel the first quivering of India's independence. Despite a vast cultural divide, it is possible for love to flourish if only surrounded by truth, understanding, and compassionate hearts.