when i was a little girl my dad left me and my mum and he never came back and youre supposed to be gutted when that happens but secretly i preferred it without him cos it meant i had my mum completely to myself without having to share her with anyone and i sort of inherited all the affection she used to give to my dad like hed left it behind for me as a gift to say sorry for deserting meso says eleven year old shruti of her broken home in suburban middle england but hopes of her mothers affection are in vain speaking little english and fluent in only hindi and punjabi shrutis mother is lost and soon falls prey to family pressure to remarry to find another husband means returning to india and leaving shruti behindmeanwhile at school a new arrival the indomitable meena dispenses with shrutis bullying problems and transforms her day to day life desperate for companionship shruti latches on to meena to the point of obsession following her through high school and on to university but when meena invites shruti to join her on holiday in india she has no idea how dangerous her obsession will turn out to begabriel packards the painted ocean has been described by colum mccann as fearless tour de force it is a rare achievement an emotionally rich work of literature delivered in the form of a gripping pageturning story the depiction of a british indian childhood and adolescence is utterly compelling as is the allegorical exploration of the human condition