When asked about the focus on immigrants, Bhanoo stated, "I write fiction because I think there are certain stories and people absent from the larger record.

An aging woman is living in a retirement home in Tamil Nadu, away from her daughter Kamala in Atlanta, Georgia.

In His Holiness a girl’s father has become a guru, switching out his academic clothes for robes, his photograph now in the place of honor in the home.

Seeking Fortune Elsewhere received stellar reviews, including from notable publications such as The New York Times, "These stories rattle and shake with the heartache of separation," [2] and the Harvard Review, "Seeking Fortune Elsewhere achieves a level of poignancy most writers can only dream of.

Her straightforward writing style allows for a unified flow, keeping the focus squarely on the difficult questions these eight stories ask about dislocation.