Kiran Desai describes her character Ilan as “He had a greyhound face, distinguished and lean, and when he took off his hat, Sonia noticed that his dark hair held a streak of gray.” (Desai, p. 22)
Sonia and Sunny were at a beach when suddenly, a greyhound dog came swimming out of the sea waves. The dog attacked Sonia and Sunny. It even bit into Sunny’s sandal. As Sunny fought it off, it disappeared into the sand. Sunny was incredulous. He couldn’t believe the greyhound could come out of the sea and disappear into the sand.
I find it too much of a coincidence that Ilan was described as having a greyhound face, and then later, a greyhound appeared to attack Sonia and Sunny after they got together. The author had intention to make the reader realize there is a connection between the shape of Ilan’s face and the ghostly greyhound which disappeared.
She maybe saying that Ilan shapeshifted into a greyhound.
That is fantasy. Maybe it was an illusion. Sonia and Sunny may have had an illusion. But no. Sunny says he has checked his slipper and there are bite marks, with teeth indentation.
The main book review is at https://artmater.com/explaining-the-loneliness-of-sonia-and-sunny/
In it, there are many links of themes, tropes and related topics.