Uma Parameswaran's earlier works have earned her praise and awards. What was Always Hers won the Jubilee Award for the best collection of short stories published in 1999. Of the title story, that appeared earlier as The Sweet Smell of Mother's ...

"What I found most enjoyable about this novel is that it steers clear of stereotypes about Indian immigrant families. The Bhaves and the Moghes are refreshingly different from some families that inhabit the world of diasporic fiction. There are no...