Summary

In 1970s Nepal, hippie tourists congregate on Freak Street, an area known for its bars and hashish shops. One of these hippies, Sofi, rents a room above a family-owned restaurant. This family includes the matriarch Sahuni, her husband, and their son Rajesh. Sofi adores Nepali culture and the Hindu religion, and even believes that perhaps she was Nepali in a former life. Sofi asks Sahuni to give her a Nepali name, and Sahuni chooses “Sukumari,” which means “soft, delicate girl” and also “virgin” (95). One day, at one of the hippie bars, Sofi meets a former Marine who berates her and then aggressively pursues her sexually, taking her back to his house where somewhat non-consensual sex occurs, though Sofi is hesitant to call it rape because “At any point in the evening she could have left” (99).

Following this incident, Sukumari (as Sofi will henceforth...