Tara, an immigrant woman in the American South, is trapped in a loveless, abusive arranged marriage, until she discovers self-love-a powerful force that gives her the courage to find herself and to confront a cruel, victim-blaming, patriarchal culture.
2021 American Fiction Award: Winner
A 2021 Georgia Author of the Year Award Finalist
2021 International Book Awards, Finalist: Women's Fiction
2021 International Book Awards, Finalist: Multicultural Fiction
Featured in Travel + Leisure’s "20 Most-anticipated Books for Fall”
“20 Classic and New Books About Feminism That Will Get You Thinking and Talking”
―Parade
“A moving and polished novel that highlights Rao’s literary promise.”
―Kirkus Reviews
“Rao’s resonant novel is an ode to the value of personal dignity and the importance of being true to oneself that carries on long after the final chapter.”
―Newsweek magazine
“Purple Lotus is the Atlanta novel you need to be reading this year… Tara is probably one of the strongest characters you’ll find in Southern fiction.”
—ArtsATL
“I’d recommend it to people who are fans of the expansive storytelling of Tayari Jones... and then to anyone who wants to add to their bookshelf of growing Atlanta literature.”
—PANK Magazine
“The dazzling tale of an Indian-American woman finding her way through the labyrinth of tradition to self-awareness in the modern world. The writer employs an energetic prose style interspersed with melodic passages to make the writing itself a hybrid. Set in particular times and places, Purple Lotus nonetheless appeals to readers everywhere, especially women, to claim the full measure of their human rights. A vivid and resplendent novel for our time.”
―Elaine Neil Orr, critically acclaimed author of Swimming Between Worlds
