Abraham Verghese has built his literary reputation on sweeping, multigenerational epics like Cutting for Stone and The Covenant of Water. With “Abscond,” Abraham Verghese demonstrates that his mastery of human emotion and cultural identity translates beautifully to the short story format. This compact yet profound narrative captures the violent rupture between childhood and adulthood through the lens of a thirteen-year-old Indian-American boy whose world transforms irrevocably in a matter of hours.
A Portrait of Suburban Indian-American Life in 1967
Set against the backdrop of 1967 New Jersey, “Abscond” by Abraham Verghese opens with Ravi Ramanathan living what appears to be an idyllic suburban existence. Verghese meticulously crafts the domestic rhythms of the Ramanathan household—the early morning sounds of his mother Rekha’s kitchen preparations, his father’s ritual breakfast before surgery days, the familiar comfort of traditions that feel both nurturing and constraining to a thirteen-year-old mind.
The author’s medical background infuses authenticity into Dr. Ramanathan’s character, from his consultation of surgical atlases to his understanding that “paper doesn’t bleed.” These details create a vivid portrait of an immigrant family that has achieved the American dream while maintaining their cultural identity. The parents’ expectations—spoken and unspoken—hover over Ravi like a gentle but persistent pressure, particularly his mother’s certainty that medicine is his “destiny.”
Verghese’s prose in these opening sections moves with the same measured cadence as the family’s routines, creating an almost hypnotic sense of security that makes the story’s central tragedy all the more devastating. The tennis court becomes Ravi’s sanctuary, where his secret self—the boy who dreams of Wimbledon rather than medical school—can flourish without judgment.
The Weight of Cultural Identity and Secret Selves
One of the story’s most compelling elements is Verghese’s exploration of the “secret self” that children of immigrants often carry. Ravi navigates between his home identity, where he’s “kanna” and surrounded by Tamil conversations and ritual expectations, and his school identity as “Connor” among classmates who expect him to know about “magic carpets and harems.” This duality feels authentic and poignant, capturing the exhausting work of code-switching that many first-generation Americans will recognize.
The author doesn’t sentimentalize this experience. Instead, he presents it as a natural adaptation, showing how Ravi has learned to compartmentalize different aspects of his identity. His friendship with Billy serves as both bridge and barrier—Billy represents the American world Ravi inhabits at school, yet their bond transcends cultural differences in ways that feel genuine rather than forced.
Verghese’s handling of the family’s social circle—the monthly rummy games with other Indian families scattered across New Jersey—provides crucial context for understanding the community’s shared expectations and dreams. The pressure for children to become physicians isn’t portrayed as oppressive but as a natural extension of immigrant ambition and sacrifice.
The Moment Everything Changes
The story’s pivot point—Dr. Ramanathan’s sudden death from a heart attack during his afternoon rest—arrives with shocking swiftness. Verghese doesn’t dwell on the medical details but instead focuses on the aftermath: the house filling with people, Rekha’s complete psychological breakdown, and Ravi’s bewildered attempt to process a loss that feels incomprehensible.
The author’s portrayal of grief is unflinching and nuanced. Rekha’s violent self-harm and keening wails initially seem foreign to Ravi, yet Natarajan Uncle’s explanation that such displays are “traditional” but not “common” reveals the complex ways cultural practices intersect with individual trauma. Verghese avoids both exoticizing these behaviors and dismissing them, instead presenting them as one family’s way of processing unbearable loss.
Ravi’s anger at his mother for “robbing him of his opportunity to mourn” feels psychologically accurate for a teenager whose own grief is displaced by the need to manage a family crisis. The author captures the selfishness that can coexist with love during traumatic moments, making Ravi’s emotional responses feel authentic rather than idealized.
The Transformative Power of Ritual
Perhaps the story’s most powerful section involves the Hindu cremation ceremony, where Ravi must assume the role of eldest son in dispatching his father’s remains. Verghese’s description of the unusual scene—six men in white dhotis, including “two boys, not quite men, one brown skinned with his head shaved and the other white with blond hair”—emphasizes both the solemnity of the ritual and its adaptation to American circumstances.
The decision to shave his head becomes a crucial moment of agency for Ravi. Despite being told he doesn’t have to follow this tradition, he chooses to do so as an external manifestation of his internal devastation. Billy’s offer to shave his head too demonstrates the depth of their friendship while highlighting the story’s themes about cultural boundaries and genuine human connection.
The ceremony itself, with its Sanskrit phrases that “meant nothing” to Ravi yet somehow connected him to an ancient chain of fathers and sons, illustrates Verghese’s sophisticated understanding of how traditions can provide meaning even when their literal significance is unclear. The moment when Ravi presses the ignition button marks his transition from son to “man of the house”—a transformation he never sought but must now embrace.
Character Development and Emotional Truth
Verghese excels at creating fully realized characters within the constraints of a short story. McGilicutty, the Irish neighbor who becomes an unlikely source of wisdom and comfort, could easily have been a stereotypical wise elder. Instead, he emerges as a complex figure who shares whiskey with a grieving teenager, speaks frankly about his own doubts about God, and understands the necessity of both ritual and rebellion.
The author’s portrayal of Billy deserves particular praise. Rather than serving merely as the white best friend, Billy becomes Ravi’s emotional anchor—the “twin” who provides wordless support during the worst moments. Their friendship feels lived-in and authentic, grounded in shared experiences rather than cultural differences.
Rekha’s character arc from devoted mother to woman destroyed by grief to someone finding her way back to connection with her son demonstrates Verghese’s understanding of trauma’s unpredictable trajectory. Her final transformation in the kitchen, where she shares stories about her childhood dog and reveals the depth of her relationship with her husband, provides the story’s emotional resolution without feeling forced or overly optimistic.
Literary Craftsmanship and Cultural Authenticity
Abraham Verghese’s prose style in “Abscond” reflects his larger body of work while adapting to the short story’s demands. His sentences move with deliberate rhythm, building emotional intensity through accumulation of detail rather than dramatic flourishes. The author’s medical background adds authenticity to descriptions of grief’s physical manifestations and the practical aspects of death, while his own experience as an Indian immigrant provides cultural specificity without resorting to explanatory exposition.
The story’s structure mirrors its themes about sudden change and adaptation. The peaceful opening gives way to crisis, which then resolves into a new kind of equilibrium—not healing, exactly, but survival and the possibility of moving forward. This reflects the immigrant experience more broadly: the necessity of adapting to circumstances you never chose while maintaining some essential core of identity.
Minor Criticisms and Considerations
While “Abscond” by Abraham Verghese succeeds on multiple levels, some elements feel slightly underdeveloped given the story’s length constraints. The mother-son relationship in the aftermath of crisis, while movingly portrayed, might have benefited from more exploration of how their individual grieving styles complement or conflict with each other.
Additionally, while the 1967 setting provides important historical context for understanding the immigrant experience of that era, some readers might wish for more explicit engagement with the broader social movements of the period. However, this criticism may miss the point—Verghese seems deliberately focused on the intimate family story rather than larger historical forces.
Comparisons and Context
“Abscond” by Abraham Verghese shares thematic territory with other contemporary works exploring the Indian-American experience, such as Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies or Kiran Desai’s The Inheritance of Loss. However, Verghese’s focus on a male protagonist and his integration of medical authenticity provide unique perspectives within this literary tradition.
The story also resonates with classic coming-of-age narratives while avoiding many of the genre’s typical pitfalls. Rather than romanticizing the loss of innocence, Verghese presents it as a necessary but painful adaptation to circumstances beyond anyone’s control.
A Masterful Addition to Contemporary Short Fiction
“Abscond” demonstrates that Abraham Verghese’s talents extend well beyond the epic novel format that brought him literary fame. This compact story achieves remarkable emotional depth while exploring themes of identity, loss, cultural adaptation, and the ways families survive catastrophic change.
The story’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to provide easy answers or false comfort. Ravi’s journey from protected child to “man of the house” is neither celebrated nor mourned but simply observed with clear-eyed compassion. The ending, with mother and son sharing breakfast and planning to maintain their father’s traditions while adapting them to their new reality, suggests resilience without minimizing loss.
For readers familiar with Abraham Verghese’s novels, “Abscond” offers a concentrated dose of his strengths: cultural authenticity, emotional intelligence, and the ability to find universal human experiences within specific cultural contexts. For newcomers to his work, this story provides an excellent introduction to an author who consistently demonstrates that the most personal stories often reveal the most profound truths about the human condition.
Similar Books Worth Reading
Readers who appreciate “Abscond” by Abraham Verghese might enjoy:
- Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri – Pulitzer Prize-winning collection exploring Indian-American experiences
- The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy – A powerful novel about family trauma and cultural identity
- Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer – Short stories examining identity and belonging in America
- The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri – Novel exploring immigrant family dynamics and generational differences
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – A family drama about loss, expectations, and cultural identity
