The Inheritance of Loss (2006) by Indian writer Kiran Desai won the Booker Prize in 2006.

Set in 1986, the novel centres around 2 characters: Biju & Sai.

Sai was orphaned as a 6-year-old. At the time she was living in a convent school in Russia. After her parents died in an accident, the child was sent to live with her maternal grandfather, retired judge Jemubhai Patel, in Kalimpong a town in West Bengal, India. Sai’s father had also been an orphan.

Biju is living in the US during most of the novel. His father is the cook for Sai’s grandfather and since he lives on the ground’s of Jemubhai Patel’s house, Biju lived with his grandmother while growing up.

The central theme in The Inheritance of Loss is the effect of colonialism and the way a sense of loss travels down through the generations.