Kiran Desai's Inheritance

Another review of Kiran Desai's The Inheritance of Loss by fellow-novelist Bharti Kirchner, who says: "...[her]second novel is broader in scope, peopled with a more diverse set of characters and shimmering with honesty and humanity." But, alas, "The writing style has a detached quality, leaving the reader feeling less than fully engaged with the characters. And the chapters are broken into short episodes, interrupting the flow of the story."

(Jabberwock has an interesting and readable interview-cum-profile here.)