Welcome to Quick Verdict, a fortnightly column that rates every book a hit or miss.This week: How Caro Claire Burke’s Yesteryear dismantles the tradwife fantasy; why Michelle D’Costa’s You Envy the Coutinhos peels back the pretence of migrant success through a tragicomic portrait of a Gulf family; and, finally, how Devki Pande’s The Imitation Englishman uses one law student’s colonial education to expose the psychological price of assimilation.Caro Claire Burke’s debut novel has been the talk of book clubs all summer, thanks to its perfectly of-the-moment subject: the tradwife influencer, that beguiling creature who makes bank while selling women the romanticised fantasy of a glorified broodmare.The book follows Natalie Heller Mills, an influencer who peddles sourdough and soft-focus femininity to the liberal feminists she baits, the incels who claim her as proof, and the conservative politicos who see her as a weapon.In practice, she is no tradwife. Off camera, she has all modern conveniences at her disposal, the business model is hers and she is unequivocally the family’s breadwinner. When a documentary maker exposes the sham, she embraces the pioneer fantasy in earnest, and wakes one day to find herself in 1855.Burke successfully dismantles the machinery that sells subservience as choice, and shows how the fantasy claims victims among men and children too. The writing, especially the climax, is, however, rushed, and the 1855 sections are unconvincing. Yesteryear had the bones to be one of the greats but it just fell shy.(Reviewed by Aishwarya Khosla)You Envy the Coutinhos by Michelle D’CostaVerdict: HITMichelle D’Costa’s debut novel, You Envy the Coutinhos, offers a window into what migrating to another country actually entails and what life is like before and after. Having lived her formative years in Bahrain, D’Costa’s novel largely takes place there.Story continues below this adThe protagonist, Joachim, is from a not-well-to-do family from Mangalore. He has dreams of becoming a Bollywood actor but his mother’s voice taunts him about his broken Hindi each time he thinks of it. He settles for a safe job in the Gulf that will improve his situation. Being in the Gulf is harder still, with insecurity at each step, but he has to put on a brave face for those back home who think of him as ‘successful’. That brave face, the pretence of Joachim having a loving marriage with Emilda, a science-studying daughter and a good job, makes his nephew, Darrel Serrao, envious.Through its tragicomic style, the novel peels back the layers of class, religion, gender, masculinity, family and success. Reminiscent of Jhumpa Lahiri’s early writing, it tackles cultural stereotypes and breaks open the disillusionments of migration. D’costa’s debut is gripping from the first paragraph.(Reviewed by Reva Thakkar)Also Read | ‘Max 10 years down this road’: Journalist Tavleen Singh imagines India’s futureThe Imitation Englishman by Devki PandeVerdict: HITSet during World War I, writer and producer Devki Pande’s debut novel, The Imitation Englishman is a historical fiction that examines the psychological toll of colonialism.The story follows Madhusudan Chandra Joshi, a clerk working in the district courts in India, who travels to Heidelberg to study law. On the way, he meets Amir Farooqui who is with the Hindu-German conspiracy, a revolutionary group formed by Indians living in exile.Story continues below this adAs the war gathers momentum, Amir and Madhusudan flee to San Francisco and London respectively, the former in search of his fellow revolutionaries who are part of the Hindustan Ghadar Party and the latter determined to continue his studies. But it is London that exposes Madhusudan to the harsh realities of colonialism.The novel it refuses to offer its protagonist easy heroism. Madhusudan is forced to come to terms with the price of his own assimilation. The story smoothly ties in real historical figures like Lala Har Dayal, Bhagwan Singh and Ram Chandra, all members of the Hindustan Ghadar Party. The book is a thought-provoking debut about friendships, identity and the cost of choosing a cause.(Reviewed by Anusree K C)