Tell Me How to Be

'A love letter to R&B, youth, and the unforgettable agonies of one's first love...I will read everything Patel writes from here on.' Susie Yang, New York Times bestselling author of White Ivy

Lost in the jungle of Los Angeles, Akash Amin is filled with shame. Shame for liking men. Shame for wanting to be a songwriter. Shame for not being like his perfect brother. Shame for his alcoholism. And most of all, shame for what happened with the first boy he ever loved. When his mother tells him she is selling the family home, Akash must return to Illinois to confront his demons and the painful memory of a sexual awakening that became a nightmare.

Akash's mum, Renu, is also plagued by guilt. She had it all: doting husband, beautiful house, healthy sons. But as the one-year anniversary of her husband's death approaches Renu can't stop wondering if she chose the wrong life thirty-five years ago and should have stayed in London with her first love.

Together, Renu and Akash pack up the house, retreating further into the secrets that stand between them. When their pasts catch up to them, Renu and Akash must decide between the lives they left behind and the ones they've since created.

By turns irreverent and tender, filled with the beats of '90s R&B, Tell Me How to Be is about our earliest betrayals and the cost of reconciliation. But most of all, it is the love story of a mother and son each trying to figure out how to be in the world.

“Refreshing...Defiant...Consistently surprising - The New York Times Book ReviewNeel Patel writes with the wisdom and compassion of an old soul - Celeste Ng, bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere Surprising, funny...Brave - NPRPatel turns his lens on Indian-Americans, addressing with depth and care subjects that are often overlooked or made into caricature: helicopter parents, conflicts between spouses, sibling rivalry, racism, sexual orientation, and identity - Vanity Fair Perfect - GuardianAt turns heartbreaking and uplifting ...Neel Patel upends stereotypes, especially Indian-American masculinity. He's at his most remarkable when illuminating the experience of queer men making sense of their sexuality, and allowing themselves to hope for a happy ending with the men they love - BuzzfeedPatel's deep sense of empathy - and infuriatingly relatable characters - shines throughout. A melancholic pleasure with a sense of humour - Kirkus A wonderful read: necessary, aching, and alive - Library Journal”

A beautiful book about a mother and son...I really loved this book. Rumaan Alam, author of LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND
I loved Tell Me How to Be's story of family, first love, and figuring out your place in the world. Neel's writing is vulnerable, authentic and entertaining. This book gives a fresh perspective to complicated family relationships...something everyone can relate to. Lilly Singh, author of HOW TO BE A BAWSE
A brilliant novel about mothers and sons, secrets and lies, regret and truth. Neel Patel writes with a clear, empathetic pen, creating a cast of characters that are utterly unforgettable. Nikesh Shukla, editor of THE GOOD IMMIGRANT
Once in a while there comes a book that reminds us of why we read: to feel, to question, to grow. This is that book. A love letter to R&B, youth, and the unforgettable agonies of one's first love. The emotional truth of this indelibly portrayed family and their messy lives will leave you weeping and shattered. I will read everything Patel writes from here on. Susie Yang, New York Times bestselling author of WHITE IVY
Reading this book is like being sucked into another family. I found myself so invested in each of the characters and their happiness. This family made me laugh, they made me reminisce about my own youth and they made me reflect on my own family. One of the best and most beautiful novels I've read all year. Luan Goldie, author of NIGHTINGALE POINT
Effortlessly written; tender, irreverent and compassionate when dealing with complex themes of guilt, shame, otherness and family relationships. It made me laugh and cry. Kavita Puri, author of PARTITION VOICES
A soulful and seductive love song of a book, Tell Me How to Be is a keen and sharply hilarious celebration of the universal messiness of desire and the necessity of coming clean first with ourselves. I laughed out loud at the prickliness of Renu and ached for Akash through the book's careful unfurling of the past. In this examination of identity through yearning and loss and the enduring consequences of denial, Patel has crafted an unforgettable duet between mother and son. Nancy Jooyoun Kim, author of THE LAST STORY OF MINA LEE
Neel Patel's compelling first novel tells a story that is sometimes funny, sometimes disturbing, and, by the end, deeply moving. Tell Me How to Be explores the high price of secrets, deceit, and regret and the redemptive power of speaking one's truth. Patel's short chapters, immensely readable prose, and talent for continually raising the stakes for his complicated characters kept me turning the pages late into the night. A memorable debut. Stephen McCauley, author of MY EX-LIFE
A compulsively readable, funny, hard-hitting novel about family, Indian American culture, and the secrets we keep from the ones we love most. Akash is a little bit of a mess-he drinks too much, he's on the precipice of sabotaging his relationship, and let's just say, work is not his forte. When he returns to his childhood home to deal with the death of his father, he's thrust back into the memories of his teenage years and falling in love for the first time-the obsession, the fire, the shame of loving a man-and is forced to confront his past and his sexuality. Neel Patel writes with verve, comedy, and compassion for his characters that are nuanced, flawed, and striving to find their place in the world. Al Woodworth, Amazon Editor
Immersive, seductive and elegant, this novel shimmers richly on the surface, even as its depths pulse with potent heartbreak and loss. Mahesh Rao, author of POLITE SOCIETY
This book is so beautiful and evocative and relatable. Sareeta Domingo, editor for WHO'S LOVING YOU
Patel infuses Tell Me How to Be with a lively self-awareness, humor and warmth... Mother and son share a love of guilty pleasures in a novel that asks: When you find the melody that speaks to you, why let it go? New York Times Book Review

Neel Patel is a first-generation Indian American who grew up in Champaign, Illinois. He has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and his short stories have appeared in The Southampton Review, Indiana Review, The American Literary Review, Hyphen Magazine, and on BuzzFeed and Nerve.com. Tell Me How to Be is his debut novel.

'A love letter to R&B, youth, and the unforgettable agonies of one's first love...I will read everything Patel writes from here on.' Susie Yang, New York Times bestselling author of White Ivy Lost in the jungle of Los Angeles, Akash Amin is filled with shame. Shame for liking men. Shame for wanting to be a songwriter. Shame for not being like his perfect brother. Shame for his alcoholism. And most of all, shame for what happened with the first boy he ever loved. When his mother tells him she is selling the family home, Akash must return to Illinois to confront his demons and the painful memory of a sexual awakening that became a nightmare.Akash's mum, Renu, is also plagued by guilt. She had it all: doting husband, beautiful house, healthy sons. But as the one-year anniversary of her husband's death approaches Renu can't stop wondering if she chose the wrong life thirty-five years ago and should have stayed in London with her first love.Together, Renu and Akash pack up the house, retreating further into the secrets that stand between them. When their pasts catch up to them, Renu and Akash must decide between the lives they left behind and the ones they've since created. By turns irreverent and tender, filled with the beats of '90s R&B, Tell Me How to Be is about our earliest betrayals and the cost of reconciliation. But most of all, it is the love story of a mother and son each trying to figure out how to be in the world.

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