Francisco DSai is a firstborn son of a firstborn sonall the way back to the beginning of a long line of proud Konkans, the Jews of India, who abandoned their Hindu traditions, knelt before Vasco da Gamas sword and Saint Francis Xaviers cross, and became Catholics.In Chicago circa 1973, Franciscos Konkan father, Lawrence, does his best to assimilate into American culture, drinking a lot and speaking little. But Franciscos American, Peace Corpsveteran mother,Denise, and his uncle Sam (aka Samuel Erasmus DSai) are passionate raconteurs set on preserving the familys Konkan heritage. Friends, allies, and eventually lovers, Sam and Denise feed Franciscos imagination with proud visions of India and Konkan history.Like his acclaimed debutWhiteman and like the works of Monica Ali or Jhumpa Lahiri,Tony DSouzas The Konkans is an absorbing portrait of assimilation filled with romance, comedy,masterly storytelling, and the truth of family life in any country.