South Asian American Archives - Page 9 of 17

The Last Taxi Ride: A Ranjit Singh Novel by A.X. Ahmad

15 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

While Ranjit Singh’s trimming days as The Caretaker might have been left behind on Martha's Vineyard, he can't escape for long from the corruption and intrigue in the murderous lives of the power-elite. In the second installment of A.X. Ahmad's label-defying trilogy, Ranjit reinvents himself as a seasoned New York City cabbie, now divorced...

Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood by Varsha Bajaj

24 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indian, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, South Asian, South Asian American

Okay, so what are the chances?! Varsha Bajaj's exuberant debut middle grade novel begins with a food allergy that sends her teen protagonist, the titular Abby Spencer, to the ER with an anaphylactic reaction. Talk about eerily prescient – less than 12 hours later, I'm repeating...

King for a Day by Rukhsana Khan, illustrated by Christiane Krömer

14 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Canadian Asian Pacific American, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Pakistani, Pakistani American, South Asian American

With the arrival of the spring festival in Lahore, Pakistan, no one is more excited than Malik who is ready for the upcoming kite-flying battles armed with Falcon. "'How can you be king of Basant with only one kite?'" his sister teases. "'Insha Allah, it...

The Sleeping Dictionary by Sujata Massey

24 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indian, Indian African, South Asian, South Asian American

After 10 installments of her award-winning Rei Shimura mysteries, DC-area-based Sujata Massey goes historical with her latest Dictionary, published this summer after six years in the making. Dictionary marks the debut of a new series Massey intends, The Daughters of Bengal, each set in India. Given a choice...

The Problem with Being Slightly Heroic by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Abigail Halpin

26 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, South Asian American

You could just start reading Uma Krishnaswami's recent middle grade cross-cultural adventure and thoroughly enjoy it, but why have only half the fun? To maximize the knowing giggles, make sure to start with Dini's 2011 debut in The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. Then check out...

The Caretaker by A.X. Ahmad

05 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

For you DC-area-locals who were wondering, debut novelist A.X. Ahmad is one of us ...

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri [in Library Journal]

15 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

*STARRED REVIEW Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri's (The Interpreter of Maladies) unparalleled ability to transform the smallest moments into whole lives pinnacles in this extraordinary story of two brothers – so close that one is "the other side" of the other – coming of age in the political...

Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Grandma and the Great Gourd: A Bengali Folktale by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, illustrated by Susy Pilgrim Waters + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

05 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

When I recently caught up with Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, she was in one of her rare lull periods at home in Houston, Texas, having finished almost three solid months of book touring for her latest novel, Oleander Girl. Like her latest protagonist, Korobi Roy, a...

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

09 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

Reading four novels, each set in a major Indian city, one after another over a single week or so, has made the stories feel as if they might overlap, dovetail, conflate, creating quite the enriching literary experience. In the midst of A Fine Balance, I...

The Magic of Saida by M.G. Vassanji

10 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Indian African, South Asian American

Poisoned and hallucinating, a Canadian doctor lies in a hospital in the remote town of Kilwa in Tanzania. A stranger happens to hear a few brief details of the man's outrageous story, and decides to introduce himself to this doctor with an Indian name – Kamal...

On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman [in Library Journal]

03 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Fiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American, Sri Lankan, Sri Lankan American

* STARRED REVIEW As in Ru Freeman’s absorbing 2009 debut, A Disobedient Girl, the intricate lives of young children also take center stage in this latest work. In 1979, the titular Sal Mal Lane is a cul-de-sac on the outskirts of Sri Lanka’s largest city and former...

On Sal Mal Lane by Ru Freeman + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

06 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American, Sri Lankan, Sri Lankan American

Allow me to start with the simple end: Ru Freeman's On Sal Mal Lane is stupendous. I'll even embellish that verdict and add that it is actually fan-huththa-tastic...

The City of Devi by Manil Suri + Author Interview [in Bookslut]

04 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Let's go back about seven years. So a writer walks into a bar. It's dark, but thankfully not smoky. The majority of the people there are more bookish (including Booker-ish!) than biker brutish. The writer finds a drink, and is standing slightly off the side with...

The No-Dogs-Allowed Rule by Kashmira Sheth, illustrated by Carl Pearce

22 Aug, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Fiction, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, South Asian American

Ishan Mehra has CDS ...

Aerogrammes and Other Stories by Tania James

25 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian American, Short Stories, South Asian American

Thankfully, 'sophomore slump' is not part of Tania James’ vocabulary. In fact, her second book is even better than her 2009 debut novel Atlas of Unknowns. And as rare as consistency can be in collections, James manages to sustain an unwavering level of resonating quality throughout each of the...

Gods without Men by Hari Kunzru

21 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, British Asian, Fiction, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

Most of the time, I love stories that require fitting together seemingly disjointed pieces; my brain feels delightfully tickled with the challenge. And, of Hari Kunzru's novels – Gods being his fourth and latest – I much appreciated both The Impressionist and Transmission [no, I've not yet read My...

American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

14 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Pakistani American, South Asian American

In a sentence, American Dervish is about a young boy's indoctrination into Islam – the religion he was born into, but from the practice of which his parents have lapsed (by choice) – and his eventual withdrawal from his fervent childhood devotion. By extension, the novel...

The Artist of Disappearance by Anita Desai

13 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American

How silly of me for waiting so long to read this, the venerable Anita Desai's latest, when I've had the galley for almost a year (it pubbed last December). Instead, I've slogged through too many disappointing, tedious, nightmare-inducing titles when I could have been celebrating...

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie

01 Apr, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

I've been working through numerous 'should-have-read-earlier'-titles lately, and Salman Rushdie's books always loom large as objects of fascination. After four attempts to read his The Enchantress of Florence (twice on the page, twice stuck in the ears narrated by Firdous Bamji whose recordings can make me choose a book...

The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani

27 Feb, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indian American, Jewish, Middle Grade Readers, South Asian American

"Life's pretty good," Sonia thinks to herself. Her whole class is making biryani together as part of their study of India: "Getting to know the food," says her favorite teacher, "...

BookDragon South Asian American