Lords of Serendipity

   Having just finished the book, Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda, I have more questions than I have answers.  I feel confused.  The story is centered in academia, dealing with both sides of classroom dynamics.  It begins with a SrI Lankan girl, Devi, who dreams of attending a prestigious college in the United States or the United Kingdom.  She wants to make her family and country proud of her. We meet her family, and the poverty and struggle they face to help her reach her goals. She continues to face struggles and road blocks to her dreams.

Next we meet professors and deans of  global colleges. Some struggling themselves to make their mark on the world of higher education.  The reader is introduced to corruption in the academic system. The foreign students are sold grades by an enterprising graduate teaching assistant.  Devi, the Sri Lankan is scammed by an online tutor whom she is paying to get help with her college applications.  Professors are asked to overlook cheating. The Moral compass is broken.  The book is a roller coaster ride of collegiate drama.

The most endearing characters are two college students, one a migrant orphan from Sri Lanka, another a United States citizen whose father is a statistics professor.  The girls find friendship amongst the mayhem. 

So, my problem with this book is there was little continuity. I found the plot disjointed and the scenes did not flow from one to the other.  The characters were memorable, but without a tight well moving plot, I had a hard time feeling truly invested in their stories. At the end of the book I still felt lost. Not left hanging, like a cliffhanger, but rather unsatisfied. I felt like the author had many plot lines that needed to be tied together, and he did this as he ended the story, but it didn't feel like it fit, more like it just needed to end.

I really struggle when I read a book I don't enjoy.  I truly look for positives in each one. In my opinion the positive in this book is the glimpse of Sri Lankan culture. Seeing struggles of an international student culture was enlightening. 

The negatives were the plot and overall depressing look at corruption in the academic settings.  I chose to read Lords of Serendipity because of the preview comments that said it was lively and hilarious.  The story just made me disheartened.  

I rated it with two stars. Lords of Serendipity will be published on September 8, 2026 by Mariner Books. 

Thank you NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's copy of Lords of Serendipity by Randy Boyagoda in exchange for this honest review. 

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