Welcome to another installment of a collaboration between the Chicago Review of Books and the Your Favorite Book podcast. Malavika Praseed, frequent CHIRB contributor and podcast host, seeks to talk to readers and writers about the books that light a fire inside them. What’s your favorite book and why?
This week’s guest is SJ Sindu, whose second novel Blue Skinned Gods takes on religion and identity in a bold new way. The novel follows Kalki, raised as the tenth avatar of Vishnu due to his blue skin, and explores coming to terms with trauma and self-concept as he grows into adulthood. We travel from an ashram in Tamil Nadu to the rock scene of New York City and observe with bated breath as Kalki comes to terms with his fraught familial relationships and the conflict of his divinity. Sindu’s work is accessible to a broad audience yet specific in its references to Hindu mythology and beliefs, and the result is a satisfying, page-turning read.
Sindu cites Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West as an all-time favorite book. This novel excels from a prose level, with its hallmark winding sentences and many commas. But beyond pure sentence structure, the novel is a detailed and tender character study, depicting the ebbs and flows in the relationship of its central characters. The magical realism elements of transformative doors adds not whimsy, but a dreamlike quality that only highlights the realities of immigration and finding home away from home.
Sindu also shares their thoughts on everything from bespoke gift wrapping to the purpose of chapbooks, and so much more. And of course, the episode is spoiler free!
FINALE (for now): My Favorite Books of 2022 – Your Favorite Book
- FINALE (for now): My Favorite Books of 2022
- On Book Podcasting (Again!) with Julie Strauss (Best Book Ever Crossover)
- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson with Keenan Norris (Author of Chi Boy)
- I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy with Deeba Zargarpur (Author of House of Yesterday)
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (with Ethan Chatagnier, author of Singer Distance)
Listen to this episode of Your Favorite Book at the link above and stay tuned for more episodes with other writers in the weeks to come. If you enjoy this episode, check out other episodes of Your Favorite Book on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other major podcast platforms.
