Natasha Walter found it a "grim" novel, highlighting "how individuals are always failing to communicate".[5] The Observer found some excellent comic set-pieces amid the grimness.[6] The New York Times claimed Desai "manages to explore, with intimacy and insight, just about every contemporary international issue: globalization, multiculturalism, economic inequality, fundamentalism and terrorist violence."[7]
In 2020, Emma Lee-Potter of The Independent listed it as one of the 12 best Indian novels.[8]
