Have You Seen Romit?: A Novel (The James Alan McPherson Prize for the Novel)

A mother who has always stayed within the lines draws a new one when her adopted son goes missing in the forests of South India. Chital Mehta explores what it means to go against the rules for what you believe in. 

When twenty-five-year-old Romit, Usha's adopted son, doesn't respond to her calls, she has a sinking feeling in her stomach. Her husband, Om, who has never accepted their adopted son, tries to convince her to move on. With time, though, it's clear Usha is right: Romit has gone missing. When the police fail to help, Usha takes matters into her own hands and discovers that Romit went on a trek into the dangerous forests of Sholai in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Although her husband warns Usha to stay put, she leaves for Bengaluru to find Romit.

On her journey she meets Vijaya, a young, fearless, and opinionated trekker fighting her own demons. Together they embark on a dangerous journey into the dense forests of southern India, coming up against unexpected complications. In Have You Seen Romit? the two women of different generations discover they have more in common than they originally thought, and Usha begins to realize that while she may very well discover what happened to Romit, it will come at a cost. Usha, who has always strived to adhere to the societal norms of Indian society, must question everything she once believed in.