TICKETED: Kiran Desai, author of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny in conversation with Maya Jasanoff [09/25/26]

Porter Square Books is thrilled to welcome Kiran Desai for the PAPERBACK release of her latest book, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. Maya Jasanoff will join Desai in conversation.

This event will take place at OFFSITE at St. James Episcopal Church in Cambridge.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Use the entrance located on Beech Street (near 7 Beech Street).

TICKETS

This event is TICKETED. There are two ticket types.

1) Option 1 includes admission for 1 person to the event, as well as one paperback copy of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

2) Option 2 includes admission only for 1 person. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

Additional copies of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny as well as Kiran Desai's previous books will also be available for purchase at the event. BOOKS WILL BE PRE-SIGNED ...BUT KIRAN WILL PERSONALIZE BOOKS AFTER THE EVENT.

PARKING

We recommend taking public transit due to the limited parking in Cambridge. However, if you plan to drive, you can park in our store lot where there is limited parking. From there, the venue is a 6 minute walk. We will have parking validation slips at check-in.

Our store lot is located on Roseland St. behind Lesley's University Hall. Roseland Street is accessible by Beacon Street and Mass Ave. When you arrive at the lot, use the screen on the gate to get a ticket.

When you check in to the event, ask for a validation barcode. Parking is free on weekends and weekday evenings from 6PM-7AM. From 7AM-6PM on weekdays the first 45 minutes are free.

After the event, scan your ticket at one of the kiosks located in the building and choose "validation." Then scan the barcode your received from us. If you have an additional charge, you will be prompted to pay after scanning your barcode. The public safety desk located near the kiosks can help with any parking validation issues.

PRAISE FOR THE LONELINESS OF SONIA AND SUNNY

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW’S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

ONE OF PEOPLE’S TOP 5 BOOKS OF THE YEAR

BOOKER PRIZE SHORTLIST

KIRKUS PRIZE FINALIST

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, NPR, Time, Oprah Daily, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Economist, Harper’s Bazaar, The Globe and Mail, BBC, New York Post, Kirkus Reviews, Elle, Library Journal, Libby, Chicago Public Library, Lit Hub

LONGLISTED FOR THE MARK TWAIN AMERICAN VOICE IN LITERATURE AWARD • A LIBBY BOOK AWARD NOMINEE • ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss

“A transcendent triumph . . . not so much a novel as a marvel.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)

“A magnificent saga.”—Washington Post

“Lavish, funny, smart, and wise, this is a novel that will last.”—The Boston Globe

“A spectacular literary achievement. I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever.”—Ann Patchett

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their lives: country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. A love story, a family saga, and a rich novel of ideas, it is the most ambitious and accomplished work yet by one of our greatest novelists.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Kiran Desai is the bestselling author of the novels Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard and The Inheritance of Loss, which won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Born in India, she came to the United States when she was sixteen and now lives in New York City.

Maya Jasanoff is the author of three prize-winning books — The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World, Liberty’s Exiles: American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World, and Edge of Empire: Lives, Culture, and Conquest in the East, 1750-1850. Her teaching and research extend from the history of the British Empire to global history.

TICKETED: Kiran Desai, author of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny in conversation with Maya Jasanoff

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