
The Candid Life of Meena Dave
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Narrated by:
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Soneela Nankani
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By:
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Namrata Patel
About this listen
A woman embarks on an unexpected journey into her past in an engrossing novel about identity, family secrets, and rediscovering the need to belong.
Meena Dave is a photojournalist and a nomad. She has no family, no permanent address, and no long-term attachments, preferring to observe the world at a distance through the lens of her camera. But Meena’s solitary life is turned upside down when she unexpectedly inherits an apartment in a Victorian brownstone in historic Back Bay, Boston.
Though Meena’s impulse is to sell it and keep moving, she decides to use her journalistic instinct to follow the story that landed her in the home of a stranger. It’s a mystery that comes with a series of hidden clues, a trio of meddling Indian aunties, and a handsome next-door neighbor. For Meena it’s a chance for newfound friendships, community, and culture she never thought possible. And a window into her past she never expected.
Now as everything unknown to Meena comes into focus, she must reconcile who she wants to be with who she really is.
©2022 Namrata Patel (P)2022 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Finalist
“A thoroughly entertaining rendition of one woman’s search for belonging.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Full of lively characters who will win readers’ hearts and keep them thinking long after the book is finished, this book is a genuine, charming debut. Long-buried secrets and a journey of self-discovery will keep the pages turning.”—Booklist
“[A]n inherently fascinating and impressively scripted novel…”—Midwest Book Review
Editorial Review
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Story
Born the daughter of an enslaved woman and a Louisiana plantation owner, Jeannette Bébinn is raised alongside her white half sister—until her father suddenly dies. His vindictive wife refuses twelve-year-old Jeannette her inheritance and sells her into slavery. Now on her own, Jeannette must fight the injustices she faces because of her mixed race. She escapes enslavement and travels from Mississippi to Philadelphia to New York to Ohio, all while searching for purpose, love, and her place in a country torn asunder by the burgeoning Civil War.
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Beautiful
- By AP on 05-19-23
By: Sophfronia Scott
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The Vibrant Years
- A Novel
- By: Sonali Dev, Mindy Kaling - introduction
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Soneela Nankani, Anita Kalathara
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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When sixty-five-year-old Bindu Desai inherits a million dollars, she’s astounded—and horrified. The windfall threatens to expose a shameful mistake from her youth. On an impulse, Bindu quickly spends it on something unexpected: a condo in a posh retirement community in Florida. The impulsive decision blindsides Bindu’s daughter-in-law, Aly. At forty-seven, Aly still shares a home with Bindu even after her divorce from Bindu’s son. But maybe this change is just the push Aly needs to fight for her own dreams.
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Strong and loveable characters
- By Jeanne Wang on 12-11-22
By: Sonali Dev, and others
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Three Holidays and a Wedding
- By: Uzma Jalaluddin, Marissa Stapley
- Narrated by: Ulka Simone Mohanty
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another. At least they’ll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam’s life, Saif, wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops.
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Disappointing
- By Craig Heise on 12-09-23
By: Uzma Jalaluddin, and others
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The Brighter the Light
- By: Mary Ellen Taylor
- Narrated by: Megan Tusing
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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When a shipwreck surfaces, old secrets are sure to follow. Or so goes the lore in Ivy Neale’s hometown of Nags Head, North Carolina. When Ivy inherits her family’s beachfront cottage upon her grandmother’s death, she knows returning to Nags Head means facing the best friend and the boyfriend who betrayed her years ago. But then a winter gale uncovers the shipwreck of local legend—and Ivy soon begins to stumble across more skeletons in the closet than just her own.
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Amateurish
- By RueRue on 07-16-22
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The Boston Girl: A Novel
- By: Anita Diamant
- Narrated by: Linda Lavin
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Addie Baum is "The Boston Girl", born in 1900 to immigrant parents who were unprepared for and suspicious of America and its effect on their three daughters. Growing up in the North End, then a teeming multicultural neighborhood, Addie's intelligence and curiosity take her to a world her parents can’t imagine - a world of short skirts, movies, celebrity culture and new opportunities for women.
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Quiet, lovely little story
- By Amazon Customer on 08-01-18
By: Anita Diamant
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There's Something About Mira
- A Novel
- By: Sonali Dev
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Mira Salvi has the perfect life—a job she loves, a fiancé everyone adores, and the secure future she’s always imagined for herself. Really, she hasn’t a thing to complain about, not even when she has to go on her engagement trip to New York alone. While playing tourist in the city, Mira chances upon a lost ring, and her social media post to locate its owner goes viral. With everyone trying to claim the ring, only one person seems to want to find its owner as badly as Mira does: journalist Krish Hale.
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Powerful
- By HT on 02-09-25
By: Sonali Dev
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The God of Small Things
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens when it was first published 20 years ago, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India. Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family.
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Worthy Booker winner!
- By Saman on 08-10-17
By: Arundhati Roy
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Anxious People
- A Novel
- By: Fredrik Backman
- Narrated by: Marin Ireland
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Looking at real estate isn’t usually a life-or-death situation, but an apartment open house becomes just that when a failed bank robber bursts in and takes a group of strangers hostage. The captives include a recently retired couple who relentlessly hunt down fixer-uppers to avoid the painful truth that they can’t fix their own marriage. There’s a wealthy bank director who has been too busy to care about anyone else and a young couple who are about to have their first child but can’t seem to agree on anything.
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Read. This. Now.
- By DIY Sammy on 09-09-20
By: Fredrik Backman
What listeners say about The Candid Life of Meena Dave
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- ALASKAN PONIES
- 06-12-22
Enjoyable, great narration
My daughter found this book worthy of giving her mother “orders” to read. I learned a lot while enjoying the read. The culture expressed in a fascinating way, has me reflecting in a manner new to me. That’s the sign of a good book if I remember correctly my literature class of 50 years ago. Thanks to the author and narrator for enriching my life. MORE, please!
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- awisewoman
- 09-03-22
Great story
This is not your normal cute story, some rough patches, everything ends great. Yet it's not a sad ended story either. this was creative, had a lot of rich culture throughout. Glad I found it!
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- Alex
- 01-31-23
Enjoyable Listen!
A cute “coming of age but I’m in my twenties” story. Found family and lost family and a good dash of romance, I loved reading Meeks’s story. Her character had depth, and sense, and love and kindness! I’ll be waiting for more from Patel!
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- Marie Brewer
- 05-17-23
Loved the story - not the narrator
Really enjoyed the plot line - it was unique and drew me in. The narrator sounded like a robot unless engaged in dialogue though!
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- CAMT
- 11-30-23
intriguing story
I loved the narration! it made the story cone alive. The characters are rich and complex. I enjoyed learning more about Indian culture.
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- BlueSky
- 07-21-22
Narrator a bit annoying.
Story was fun - the mystery and setting in Boston.Unfortunately the narrator made the main character sound as if she was whining most of the time.
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- Pamela Ann Plumer
- 12-09-23
Enjoyed the discovery.
Enjoyed meenas story of discovering who she is and where she came from. Wanted her birth mother to care just a little bit but meena also formed bonds with her aunts.
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- JM
- 02-21-23
One can guess the ending
I am Indian and I love Indian authors as it makes me feel right at home & so relatable. However this story was long drawn and how I wished there was more about the London chapter which could have been more descriptive. I’m disappointed with Audibles few choices of Indian authors.
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- patricia parrish
- 05-10-23
Really enjoyed this lovely story. It causes one to look back at their own unique life and friends and family.
Well written and beautifully executed. Really enjoyed it and caused me to look back at how my family and friends influenced my life.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Marlene
- 06-26-23
Enjoyable
I am happy I took a step from my regular reads to try this. The storyline and telling was great. I’m happy with the ending. I do believe it could have been shorter. Towards the end I kept checking how much longer. However, I highly recommend it because I thoroughly enjoyed the aunties & learning about the culture.
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1 person found this helpful