The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan

In 1985 the lives of 268 Canadians were lost during the bombing of Air India flight 182.  The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan is a story based on fictional characters telling how the surviving friends and relatives coped with this loss.  Ashwin Rao is an established Indian psychologist.  After nearly 20 years have passed, two suspects are finally on trial for their roles in the bombing.  Ashwin decides to visit Canada to meet with some of the families and study how they are coping with their grief.  He quickly becomes attached and entangled in one family’s lives and secrets.  But what Ashwin isn’t quick to reveal is that he also experienced great loss during the bombing.  While trying to help others deal with their emotions; he ends up knocking down some of the walls he has built around himself.  This is a timely read as the tragic mystery unravels of what has happened to the missing Malaysia flight 370 and the 239 passengers on board.  Padma Viswanathan is a Canadian writer and this is her second novel.