The Orphan Keeper - by Camron Wright (Paperback)

About the Book

"First printing in paperbound 2017"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

Based on a remarkable true story

Seven-year-old Chellamuthu's life--and his destiny--is forever changed when he is kidnapped from his village in Southern India and sold to the Lincoln Home for Homeless Children. His family is desperate to find him, and Chellamuthu anxiously tells the Indian orphanage that he is not an orphan, he has a mother who loves him. But he is told not to worry, he will soon be adopted by a loving family in America.

Chellamuthu is suddenly surrounded by a foreign land and a foreign language. He can't tell people that he already has a family and becomes consumed by a single, impossible question: How do I get home? But after more than a decade, home becomes a much more complicated idea as the Indian boy eventually sheds his past and receives a new name: Taj Khyber Rowland.

It isn't until Taj meets an Indian family who helps him rediscover his roots, as well as marrying Priya, his wife, who helps him unveil the secrets of his past, that he begins to discover the truth he has all but forgotten. Taj is determined to return to India and begin the quest to find his birth family. But is it too late? Is it possible that his birth mother is still looking for him? And which family does he belong to now?

From the best-selling author of The Rent Collector, this is a deeply moving and gripping journey about discovering one's self and the unbreakable family bonds that connect us forever.

Review Quotes

"A deftly crafted and consistently compelling read from beginning to end. Riveting story of self-discovery and will prove to be an enduring popular addition to community library collections. Very highly recommended." -- "Midwest Book Review" (10/21/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"Despite being adopted from India, Taj is an excelling American teen. When he's matched with an Indian family during a study-abroad program in London, Taj begins to remember pieces of his childhood...and the family from which he was kidnapped and sold to an orphanage. Hoping to understand more about his identity, Taj immerses himself in Indian culture...and eventually marries an Indian woman who turns out to have a surprising connection to his past. Armed with a map drawn from memory, Taj returns to India to search for his birth family. Wright (The Rent Collector, 2012) turns the story of the real-life Chellamuthu/Taj into a meditation on identity and the meaning of family, and a novel that is sure to be a book club favorite."

-- "Booklist"

"Fascinating novel paints a detailed picture of India far from the glamour of Bollywood, and takes the reader deep into what it means to lose a family and be transplanted into a new culture. It also details the drive of an adult to rediscover what was lost. Taj's story entertains and touches the heart."-- "Washington Independent Review of Books" (9/23/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"Truly a remarkable story of one young man's journey to discover his past. Camron Wright's fascinating novel is actually based on a true story, which makes it all the more powerful."
(four and a half out of five stars)-- "Portland Book Review" (9/8/2016 12:00:00 AM)

"When I finished The Orphan Keeper I was keenly aware of the fragility associated with losing something precious then finding something of even greater value. Beautifully crafted by Camron Wright...Like Dickens, the child in this story is subjected to loss leavened with love. Everything that happens is not fiction. It happened as written, and for a reader who waivers between agnosticism and belief, this is a story that has me -- and keeps me -- thinking. The loss and pain [is] described with consummate skill. The Orphan Keeper taps into questions of coincidence and belief that have kept me in a state of wonder since I reluctantly closed its covers. Amazing read."-- "The Huffington Post" (9/21/2016 12:00:00 AM)

About the Author

Camron Wright holds a master's degree in writing and public relations. He says he began writing to get out of attending MBA school, and it proved the better decision. His first book, Letters for Emily, was a Reader's Choice award winner, as well as a selection of the Doubleday Book Club and the Literary Guild. Camron is also the author of The Rent Collector.