Like her first novel, Secret Daughter, The Golden Son is an interesting, easy to read novel with well-written characters.  Patel is the eldest son of an Indian family.  He travels from his small village to Dallas to begin his medical residency.  His life in The United States is a learning experience in many ways.  Anil encounters life and death, tradition vs. freedom and entitlement and prejudice.  Interwoven into Anil’s life is the story of Leena, a childhood friend whose parents have arranged a disastrous marriage for her.  Some of the events that occur are fairly predictable, while others are surprising.

The Golden Son is an enjoyable study of a man torn between the customs of his homeland and the freedom he encounters in America.