I couldn't figure out what this book is about: is it about the author's relationship with Sarala, the cow lady, about the author's move back to India from the United States, about the new India? Probably a mix of all, the book is light and airy at times and veers off into deep explanations about Hinduism and the role of the cow at others. All of it topped with Narayan's incredulous tone at the situations in which she finds herself gives the narrative too much distance to really let the reader dive in. An occasionally lively read but too often it reads like the author has milked much too slender a story for an entire book.

Lauren Grodstein has the possessive protagonist model down to a science. Her outstanding debut, A Friend of the Family, revolved around a father who just couldn't set his teen son free. In this novel, Karen Neulander feels the same way about her son although for a completely different reason: she is dying of cancer. As a mother, Karen is completely believable, if at times frustrating. But Grodstein stretches the possessive angle too far, stalling the story for too long well beyond the point where we can see the predictable ending coming at us. It is difficult not to indulge in histrionics in a story about a mother dying from cancer but Grodstein does pull this off for the most part. Our Short History is a sound addition to Grodstein's oeuvre, it's just not her best.