A profoundly intelligent and bitingly funny exploration of identity and coming of age, Sanjena Sathian’s debut novel Gold Diggers marks the arrival of a major talent.

A floundering teenager growing up in Atlanta’s suburbs, Neil Narayan doesn’t have the same drive as everyone around him. His immigrant parents’ expectations for him are high, and he tries to want their version of success, but mostly, Neil just wants his neighbour Anita Dayal.

But Anita has a secret: she and her mother, Anjali, have been brewing an ancient alchemical potion from stolen gold that transfers the ambition of the jewellery’s original owner to the drinker. Anita needs just a little boost to get into Harvard, but when Neil – who needs a whole lot more – joins in the plot, events spiral into a tragedy that rips their community apart.

Spanning two continents, two coasts, and four epochs, Gold Diggers expertly balances social satire and magical realism, asking what a community must do to achieve the American dream.

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