Sisters of a Halved Heart

“Readers looking for messy, complicated characters … will find satisfaction in every drama-laden page of this novel. The struggle for parental love and approval between the sisters feels authentic, [creating] opportunities for discussion on the impact of destructive versus supportive sibling relationships. Roy’s (The Magnificent Ruins, 2024) latest is a solid suggestion for fans of … character-driven novels.”

–Booklist
“Nayantara Roy’s achingly powerful second novel, Sisters of a Halved Heart, maps the complicated emotional terrain between two half-sisters who try to mend their relationship in the wake of a cataclysmic betrayal … As the sisters circle one another warily, bound together by their lifetime connection and their father’s uncertain health, Roy examines the ways in which people hurt, question, support, reassure, and even abandon the ones they love most … Roy traces the small intimacies of love through weighted moments and shared objects: a borrowed silk coat, a Cat Power song, lamb shanks in cumin gravy, mango pie at Thanksgiving. She gives voice to the shifting layers of family dynamics: adult siblings reverting to childhood roles; people keeping secrets to protect the ones they love; family members learning how to carry on after the unimaginable happens. In the end, Roy’s characters achieve both a layered complexity and a certain “hard-won sweetness” to their love. With subtle grace and a fierce, deep compassion for her characters, Roy paints an unforgettable portrait of sisterhood and family.“–Katie Noah Gibson, Shelf Awareness
“In this deeply emotional novel, Nayantara Roy explores the rivalry and heartbreak of two sisters. Roy has a powerful understanding of family and the complexities of love.”–Delia Ephron, author of Left on Tenth

“Roy’s narrative and lyrical gifts are on full display in this moving and beautiful novel about love in all its forms. A sweeping and lustrous book, Sisters of a Halved Heart has re-wired how I think about familial relationships, how we fall in and out of love, and the purpose of poetry in our daily lives. What a joy to read.”

–Michael Dickman, author of Pacific Power and Light and Days and Days
“Witty, sexy, dark, and messy, Sisters of a Halved Heart is a novel of passion, renewal, and family, both related and chosen. It is a story for people in search of love and belonging–a story for all of us.”
–Juhea Kim, internationally bestselling author of A Love Story from the End of the World
“Lush, heady, sophisticated, suffused with atmospheric detail that spans continents, Nayantara Roy’s novel is so riveting the reader will want to keep turning the pages, but so beautifully written it encourages lingering, savoring Roy’s elegant prose. The subject here is love in all its forms: filial, sisterly, thwarted, abiding, romantic, miraculous, and always, always surprising. I loved this book.” –Dani Shapiro, author of Signal Fires

Nayantara Roy’s debut novel, The Magnificent Ruins, received numerous accolades in 2024, including being named a New York Times Editor’s Choice, an LA Times Editor’s Pick, a Washington Post Best Book, a People Magazine Best Book, and an Apple best debut. The novel is currently in development for a television adaptation.

In 2018, Roy won the Rick DeMarinis Short Story Prize for her short story, “8C.” Her plays have been performed internationally, with productions in the UK and India.

By profession, Roy is the Senior Vice President of Television at Sandbox Entertainment, where she focuses on acquiring and developing original scripted series. She was born in Kolkata and currently resides in Los Angeles.