CHENNAI: The passage of time changes many things but mostly it changes our perspective.” In A Place Called Home (published by HarperCollins, Rs 250), author Preeti Shenoy explores the idea of family and finding oneself.
The book, which will be out on June 6, is set against the backdrop of coffee estates in Sakleshpur, Karnataka, and revolves around Alka, a strong but flawed protagonist. “Alka grows up in a cramped staff room in Delhi and gets married to Subbu, a coffee grower. The contrast between her small room and the massive 400 acres of the coffee estate is one of the highlights of the story,” says Shenoy about the 324-page book.
Shenoy has authored many books like The Magic Mindset (2021), Why We Love The Way We Love (2015), A Hundred Little Flames (2017) and more. Further explaining the story of her latest book, Shenoy narrates the story of Alka, whose mother is a domestic help at the residence of Mrs Shetty, a socialite. Alka takes up a completely new avatar when Mrs Shetty decides to send her to the same school as her daughter. She works very hard but somehow is always an outsider in her own life.
Describing the ups and downs of the story, Shenoy explains that each character is complex and has layers to their role. The story has thrill, trials of romance, relationships, recollections, and revelations. Alka’s bittersweet journey forms an important part of the book — from spending years of her life escaping reality to accepting herself for who she really is.
For the background work for her upcoming book, Shenoy did extensive research and travelled to learn more about the subject. In Sakleshpur, she went around the coffee estates and learnt about the lives of coffee growers. “My book is also a social commentary on the class system in India and is narrated through the protagonist’s eyes,” she explains.
Shenoy hopes to convey the message of everyone’s uniqueness in their lives. Accepting yourself for who you are and not letting society dictate your personality is important to make your place in today’s world,” the author says.