Selection Day

Aravind Adiga · b. 1974 · India

Why it matters

A domineering father grooms his two sons for cricket stardom on the streets of Mumbai, pitting one boy's private desires against the sport that is meant to save them both. Adiga trades corporate satire for a coming-of-age story about ambition's cost to the ambitious.

At a glance

A linear coming-of-age plot, though shifting close-third perspectives require attention.