Where Appearances Trump Authenticity

Book Review

By ALOK JOSHI

Just when I thought of taking a break from the social media influencers and endless television debates to return to reading books, a friend sent me an interesting book. “The Wrong Way Home” by Shunali Khullar Shroff came as a welcome change.

It is a witty, heartfelt novel about reinvention in the midst of personal crisis. Released in December 2025 by Bloomsbury, it follows Nayantara (Nayan), a 40-year-old PR agency owner in Mumbai who faces upheaval when her celebrity ex-husband remarries a young influencer, leaving her financially broke and socially ostracised. The novel opens with a gut punch: on their first divorce anniversary, Nayan discovers via social media that Jay has married a much younger influencer.

Bereft of a luxurious lifestyle and struggling with her identity, Nayan decides to resurrect her boutique PR agency. Her client list becomes a hilarious yet poignant cross-section of modern India. It includes an aging movie star desperate to stay relevant, a politician whose public image is in tatters and a small-town socialite trying to buy her way into the elite world.

Nayan rebuilds her career managing these insecure clients. The story shifts between Mumbai’s hustle and Landour’s calm, blending satire on elite optics with her journey from self-pity to empowerment. Key events include handling a pharmaceutical crisis for client Vitalis Therapeutics, highlighting India’s cutthroat corporate world.

Loneliness, aging parents, and external validation drive the story, critiquing a world where appearances trump authenticity. The author excels in her witty take on these issues, blending humour with poignant insights into elite reinvention.

The novel provides a gritty look at how society treats divorced women over forty. From housing societies that try to revoke tenancies for single women to mutual friends who “choose sides” (usually the husband’s), Shroff highlights the vulnerability that lies beneath the city’s glossy exterior.

“The Wrong Way Home” is for anyone who has ever felt like they’ve taken the long, complicated and messy road to find out who they actually are. It proves that sometimes, the “wrong way” is the only way to get back to yourself.

As a writer myself, what impressed me most is the way the author uses humour to drive home her point. It is not an easy thing to do. She uses humour to bite into the “absurdities” of modern society—specifically how women are often defined by their marital status and the artificial nature of social media fame.

All in all, a great read.

Author of ‘The Wrong Way Home’ Shunali Khullar Shroff is daughter of Late Col Subhash Khullar and Shobhna Khullar. Her father was associated with the Talkies Film Club of Rural Entrepreneurship for Art & Cultural Heritage (REACH). Her mother Shobhna lives in Clement Town, Dehradun. Shunali is a best selling author, podcaster and journalist, and this is her 3rd book.

‘Shunali Khullar Shroff captures the absurdities and aspirations of modern society with wit and precision. The Wrong Way Home is equal parts satire and heart, and her characters leap off the page because they feel so familiar, almost like people you know. What stands out most is how effortlessly she balances humour with insight, making this a read that entertains while also nudging you to reflect.’

—Sonali Bendre, Actor

(Alok Joshi is a Dehradun-based Management Advisor, Corporate Trainer, Image Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Author of three books and a freelance writer. He has worked in top management positions in many organisations across many countries.)