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When Bindu Desai unexpectedly inherits a million dollars, she is not happy. The money represents a reminder of something she did as a teen that she has kept a secret for nearly 50 years. But she decides on the spur of the moment to use it to buy a condo in a fancy retirement community.
Bindu had been living with her daughter-in-law, Aly. Even though Bindu’s son had divorced Aly and moved to India, Aly and Bindu continued their close and sweet relationship. So Aly feels slighted by Bindu’s move out.
Meanwhile, Cullie, Aly’s daughter, lives in California, all the way across the U.S. from her mother and grandmother in Florida. She’s a brilliant coder who created an app that helped her with her own anxiety; she’s pleased that the app has reached a broad audience and helps millions of others. But the company where she works is talking about making a change with it, and she is displeased, to say the least. In a desperate bid to stop the change, she pitches an idea for an unusual dating app to her boss. Never mind that she has no ideas at all, and that she hasn’t really been on a date, either.
Bindu settles in to her new home and makes waves among the residents. All the men are interested in her; she’s gorgeous and desirable even at 65. But a group of the women want to punish her for being her.
Then, when a shocking event occurs at Bindu’s condo, Cullie flies home. All three women are navigating changes and difficulties in their lives: with love, with careers, with old secrets or challenges. They come together and help each other. All three go on dates through dating apps to get ideas for what should be part of Cullie’s new app. They try other new things. And they all are essentially forced to face their fears, those things they have been pushing down inside. The result is opportunities for each to live happier, truer, more vibrant lives.
The Vibrant Years is a sweet novel about family that focuses on three related characters who have many strengths, much to contribute to the world around them. But they, as with many women (of any culture, though this focuses on women living in the U.S. who have Indian heritage), have been told and/or have internalized that they have to limit themselves. In this book of women’s fiction, we see not just a loving three-generation family supporting each other, but growing and casting off those limitations through each other’s help. It’s lovely.
Rated: Moderate. Profanity includes 1 use of strong language, about 30 instances of moderate profanity, about 45 uses of mild language, and about 20 instances of the name of Deity in vain. Sexual content includes a few references to people having sex but no details, some talk about it, references to a character having done a nude scene in a film decades ago, and one fairly short but moderately detailed sex scene.
