'Malli has an anxiety disorder that renders her unable to speak outside her own home. The highlight of her life is a long-standing weekly phone call with her younger brother, Surya, who is studying in Australia, and whose updates bring colour to her days. When Surya misses their weekly call for the first time, Malli’s quiet life is thrown into disarray.
'Seeking answers online, Malli is grateful when a user on a missing persons forum, Nayan, offers to help. As days pass without word from Surya, Malli decides she must travel to Australia to find out what has happened to him, and the unconventional and outspoken Nayan offers to accompany her.
'In Sydney, student life is less glamorous and more precarious than Surya had imagined. At the restaurant where he lives and works, Surya feels he can endure the squalid living conditions and the abysmal pay if it will secure him the elusive work visa which will allow him to stay in the country. But when a racist customer up-ends the knife-edge hierarchy at the restaurant, it sets off a chain of events that will see Surya committing a reckless act of love, risking everything for which he has worked so hard.
'Set between Bengaluru and Sydney, The Days Toppled Over is a powerful exploration of mental health, family, connecting and how international students live in Australia. With a rich sense of place, a memorable cast of characters, and a good dose of humour, it illuminates how we all need friends and contact with other humans – and how these simple things can result in transformation.'(Publication summary)
'An engaging and thought-provoking novel with a strong sense of place, memorable characters and poignant examination of connection.'
'The Days Toppled Over is about isolation and bonds forged through non-familial companionship. Vidya Madabushi’s protagonist, Malli, is reticent, as if she were conceived during the restrictions of the pandemic. Her world is confined to the Vanavas Retirement Village in Bangalore, India, where she lives nearby her mother’s friend, Mrs Munshi. She is unable to speak outside her home; only her brother Surya and deceased parents have heard her utter a word. When Surya – who’s studying in Sydney – misses their regular call, Malli gets worried. Fearing the worst, she fights the reclusiveness that has governed her life and heads to Australia in search of him.' (Introduction)
'This eye-opening novel follows an Indian woman’s search for her missing brother in Sydney'
'This eye-opening novel follows an Indian woman’s search for her missing brother in Sydney'
'The Days Toppled Over is about isolation and bonds forged through non-familial companionship. Vidya Madabushi’s protagonist, Malli, is reticent, as if she were conceived during the restrictions of the pandemic. Her world is confined to the Vanavas Retirement Village in Bangalore, India, where she lives nearby her mother’s friend, Mrs Munshi. She is unable to speak outside her home; only her brother Surya and deceased parents have heard her utter a word. When Surya – who’s studying in Sydney – misses their regular call, Malli gets worried. Fearing the worst, she fights the reclusiveness that has governed her life and heads to Australia in search of him.' (Introduction)
'An engaging and thought-provoking novel with a strong sense of place, memorable characters and poignant examination of connection.'
