Transmission by Hari Kunzru [in AsianWeek]
With way too many viruses trying to get into my inbox every day, reading Transmission has been something of a voyeuristic romp. Arjun Mehta can’t believe his good luck when he lands a job in Silicon...
With way too many viruses trying to get into my inbox every day, reading Transmission has been something of a voyeuristic romp. Arjun Mehta can’t believe his good luck when he lands a job in Silicon...
An inventive debut collection of interconnected short stories about one Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (no, not that one), an itinerant actor with a vague resemblance to a criminal whom he once portrayed...
A collection of poems that capture the multiplicity of being tied to Indian roots while living as an American in the borders of where Mexico and the United States intersect. Review: "New and...
A lyrical debut novel about a young Muslim Indian woman, who returns to her ancestral home to fulfill her destiny of marrying her betrothed. But from the very beginning, the...
Journalist Kalita looks at three waves of immigration since the 1965 immigration law changes by examining the lives three immigrant Indian families in Middlesex County, New Jersey, home of one of the largest Indian...
A striking, original collection of multi-layered short stories about life caught between the old and modern, between expectations and hopes, between dreams and reality. The opening story, “Gopal’s Kitchen,” is especially poignant about a...
The long-awaited debut novel by the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning short story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, begins in 1968 with newlyweds-by-arrangement Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli living in Cambridge, Mass. They name their first child Gogol,...
The woman who inspired the Taj Mahal had all but been lost to history until Sundaresan recreated her in her historical novel The Twentieth Wife, released earlier this year in paperback. Sundaresan...
Koul captures the lives of four generations of women in her native Kashmir, a tiny country caught between India and Pakistan since the Partition of 1947, the year of her birth. She weaves a...
A young woman returns to her home in India after a seven-year absence and has a difficult time telling her family about her non-Indian fiancé. The story is an otherwise entertaining light read about...
A slim, must-read collection of powerful essays by the author of the Booker Prize-winning The God of Small Things that questions everything from nuclear power, the so-called war against terror, and the new imperialism....
A young boy's special relationship with Chachaji, his father's old uncle, teaches him important lessons about family bonds and his rich Indian heritage. Review: "New and Notable Books," AsianWeek, April 25, 2003 Readers: Children Published:...
A touching story (and, yes, another debut novel!) about the age-old generation gap, this time set in postcolonial India, focusing on the relationship between Dr. Dam, a veterinary surgeon, and his hapless...
A look at the predominantly 1960s immigration and settlement patterns of Indian American Patels, a group highly visible because of their concentrated representation in the motel business throughout the United States. Review: "New and Notable...
With the growing presence of Indian film titles, a timely primer on how Bollywood (thankfully) is certainly not Hollywood. Review: "New and Notable Books," AsianWeek, February 28, 2003 Readers: Adult Published: 2002...
The youngest of three gorgeous sisters is confronted by a man who claims to be the love-child of the oldest sister. Family secrets, family expectations, family bonds are all challenged. Review: "New and...
An absolutely fabulous first novel about young Indian American named Rajiv Kothari, and his path to understanding his recently deceased father, his father’s view of life as an immigrant, and his own...
Isabel: Taking Wing by Annie Dalton Cécile: Gates of Gold by Mary Casanova Spring Pearl: The Last Flower by Laurence Yep Minuk: Ashes in the Pathway by Kirkpatrick Hill Neela: Victory Song by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Move over, Barbie...
Debut collection filled with diverse, disturbing, haunting, entertaining miniatures of Indian and Indian American life. Review: "New and Notable Fiction," AsianWeek, July 18, 2002 Readers: Adult Published: 2002...
The best of the latest crop of South Asian diaspora titles is The Death of Vishnu, a startling debut novel, the first of a planned trilogy by math professor Manil...