January 30, 2023
Patel (First Love, Take Two) follows an aspiring 20-something screenwriter in her middling latest. Isha, unable to get her script picked up, pieces together freelance work and lives with her traditional Indian parents, who don’t hide their worry and disappointment at Isha’s failure to land a stable job and husband. After Isha’s cousin Rohan suggests that her big break could come from Matthew McConaughey, Isha’s former professor, Isha engages in various shenanigans—some more drunken than others—to get the movie star to read her script. Despite disapproval from her family and a tendency for self-deprecation, Isha’s support from Rohan (whose loyalty earns him the moniker “Brohan”) and a potential love interest she comically dubs “Thirst-Trap” keeps her afloat. The themes of rigid parental expectations versus self-fulfillment among Asian American families are well-trod, and Patel adds little to that discussion, though Isha’s emotional confrontation with her parents will tug at some readers’ heartstrings. For a story about scriptwriting, Patel’s pacing is pretty slack, focusing too much on Isha and Rohan’s antics and leaving most major plot points unresolved. There’s not a whole lot here, though Patel’s fans will enjoy it. Agent: Katelyn Deitweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary.