Praise for The House of Hidden Mothers "Beneath the pacey narrative and emotional journeys thrum observations about youth and age, East and West, wealth and poverty, love and sex, pain, joy and resilience . Syal's writing is . contemplative and layered . A delicately written, profound study of the female condition in the rich world and the poor." --Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, The Independent "[A] rumbustious, confrontational and ultimately heartbreaking book." --Alfred Hickling, The Guardian "For sheer scope and ambition [Syal] makes Dickens and Tolstoy seem single-minded." --Susan Elkin, The Independent "Ambitious . offers some interesting insights into India's changing social climate, particularly its intersections with class and gender.

" -- Publishers Weekly " [A] sprawling, humourous and sensitive book." -- Metro "Powerful story of economic privilege, womanhood, and heartbreak." -- NationalGeographic.com Praise for Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee "Alternately hilarious and scathing, occasionally poignant, Syal's tale sheds much light on growing up in British Indian society . Syal manages to hold the reader's interest through her energetic prose and biting commentary about people and places." --Bharti Kirchner, The Seattle Times "The great strength of [Syal's] second novel is a rich, glorious prose that never ceased to delight me." --Patrick Anderson, The Washington Post "Syal deftly captures the growing pains of second-generation Indian women . As they struggle to liberate themselves without disowning their culture--or each other--the women, by turns maddening and endearing, become vibrantly alive.

" -- People "Gossipy, funny and thoroughly entertaining." --Jennifer Reese, The New York Times Book Review.