Book Title: All Our Evenings: A Novel
Author: Ruthvika Rao
Publisher: Penguin India
Number of Pages: 192
ISBN: 9377304113
Date Published: Sept. 30, 2026
Book Review
Ruthvika Rao’s “All Our Evenings” follows Arjun, Ruhee, and Ganesh, three teenagers in 1990s Hyderabad who find freedom in each other’s company during a long, restless summer. Their bond deepens around the Red House, an abandoned building that becomes both refuge and danger, until one act of violence changes their lives forever.
Rao writes with elegance and restraint. Her language is lyrical without becoming showy, and she captures the heat, streets, and social tensions of Hyderabad with careful detail. The prose is especially strong when describing longing and unease; it makes ordinary evenings feel charged with possibility. At times, however, the polished style can feel a little distant, keeping the reader at arm’s length from characters whose pain should feel immediate.
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The novel’s emotional core lies in its tangled bonds. Rao shows how friendship can offer escape from difficult homes, while desire, class difference, and jealousy quietly poison even the closest relationships. Arjun’s divided feelings and Ruhee’s return after a decade give the story its ache, though some emotional turns arrive more through plot than through gradual character growth.
The pacing is deliberately slow at first, then becomes more suspenseful as the two timelines move closer together. This structure works well, but a few twists feel more clever than convincing. Still, “All Our Evenings” is a haunting, beautifully written novel for readers who enjoy dark literary fiction about memory, love, and the past.
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About the Author
Ruthvika Rao is a novelist from Hyderabad, India, whose writing explores human relationships, identity and the complexities of life. Her debut novel, The Fertile Earth, received significant literary recognition, becoming a finalist for both the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and the Chautauqua Prize. The book was also longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize, establishing her as a writer of note.
Rao’s second novel, All Our Evenings, was published in September 2026, marking the next chapter in her literary journey. Through her fiction, she continues to engage readers with compelling narratives and nuanced explorations of the human experience. More information about her work and literary journey is available on her official website.
Swapna Peri is a Freelance blogger, book reviewer, narrator, and copy editor.
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