The Sleepwalkers Guide to Dancing is the debut novel by Mira Jacob. This is a fantastic family saga that takes the reader from India to New Mexico to Seattle and back. Following the lives of the Eapen family, Thomas, a brain surgeon and his wife Kamala, whose cooking I could almost taste, moved from India to America, raising their two kids Amina and Akhil in New Mexico. Amina, now in her early 30’s is a photographer living in Seattle when she gets a call from her mother to come home, as she is worried about Amina’s father. Not sure what to expect, she finds the situation more complicated than she imagined. The novel moves back and forth through time and past family tragedies are slowly uncovered.

This was such a beautifully written and engrossing read, I savored every bit of it. Jacob is one of my favorite newly discovered writers. Having just read Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations, her recently released graphic novel, I recognized the parts of this book that were taken from her real life, which gave the story even more depth. Both books are highly recommended.