The Charterhouse of Padma

Two Indian Canadian women, both academics, grapple with revelations about the men in their lives in this perceptive work of experimental fiction by Viswanathan (Like Every Form of Love). The first section takes the form of an essay by P, who teaches literature at the University of Arkansas with her husband, Mac. She snoops through his computer during the Covid-19 lockdown and is unnerved to discover a folder of stealthily taken photos of women, including herself. In the second part, another P, who’s also a professor at the University of Arkansas, happily weathers the pandemic in her large house with her parents, two children, and successful author husband, Mat. She reflects on the end of her first marriage to Hamish, which ended after P discovered that Hamish had mysteriously stolen a bunch of women’s wallets, including her own. Each woman offers fascinating insights on the color and liqueur chartreuse, which interests them because of its secret recipe and history as a cure-all treatment, and their impetus for writing is revealed in the final section, which depicts their separate trips to a chartreuse-making monastery in France. This intrigues. Agent: Anjali Singh, Anjali Singh Literary.