In Ronica Dhar's powerful debut, her title character, Bijou Roy, is blissfully experiencing the enchantments of first love, her father passes away, leaving her closed off and shaky. Her career and relationship in limbo, she travels to India to scatter his remains--a ritual traditionally performed by a son--in the river that runs through his native city. However, she doesn't find the peace she hoped to find in laying her father to rest. Instead, she meets Naveen, the son of her father's closest comrade and discovers the intimate details of his political past. Bijou is suddenly swept away in...