South Asian Archives - Page 3 of 14

White Dancing Elephants by Chaya Bhuvaneswar [in Booklist]

11 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American

Loss – by disappearance, destruction, or death – looms throughout Chaya Bhuvaneswar’s award-winning debut collection. Priya Ayyar’s shared Indian heritage with both Bhuvaneswar and many of her characters adds a comfortable fluency, as Ayyar gives distinct characterizations to parents and children, siblings and lovers, friends and...

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal [in Booklist]

04 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, British, British Asian, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian

Sita Kaur Shergill is dying of cancer. She has “had enough of this ghastly life,” but before she goes, she leaves epistolary final wishes that her three British-born daughters journey together to India “on [her] behalf.” Her detailed itinerary is exacting, from serving others to...

The Windfall [audio] by Diksha Basu [in Booklist]

09 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Mr. Jha, who not so long ago comfortably supported his family on a monthly salary equivalent to $200, sells his website for $20 million. That titular windfall transforms his life, along with those of his family and friends. Money – who has it, how it’s...

I Should Have Honor: A Memoir of Hope and Pride in Pakistan by Khalida Brodi [in Library Journal]

06 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Memoir, Nonfiction, Pakistani, Pakistani American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American, Young Adult Readers

When she was 25, Forbes named Khalida Brohi to its 2014 "30 Under 30: Social Entrepreneurs" list for founding Sughar Foundation, which trains and empowers rural Pakistani women. Brohi makes both her authorial and performance debuts as she chronicles her journey from a rural Pakistani...

One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasedevan [in Library Journal]

05 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian, Translation

In many ways, Kali and Ponna's lives couldn't be more fertile. Their fields and their cows keep them well nourished. Their playfulness and passion feed their souls. But after 12 years of marriage, they remain childless, leaving the couple helpless against the disdain disguised as...

The Secrets Between Us by Thrity Umrigar [in Booklist]

29 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

*STARRED REVIEW Chameleonic narrator Sneha Mathan amplifies Thrity Umrigar’s already spectacular new novel, the long-awaited sequel to the best-selling The Space Between Us (2005). While Umrigar focused on the complicated relationship between employer Sera and servant Bhima in Space, Secrets Between Us shifts from Mumbai’s haves...

The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani [in School Library Journal]

22 Oct, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Audio, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Middle Grade Readers, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW On her 12th birthday, Nisha receives her first diary from Kazi, the family’s cook, presented with prescient words: “he said it was time to start writing things down … someone needs to make a record of the things that will happen because the grown-ups...

Immigrant, Montana by Amitava Kumar [in Library Journal]

23 Jul, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

Blurring the line between fiction and nonfiction, Vassar English professor/journalist Amitava Kumar’s (Husband of a Fanatic) second novel is a hybrid text that moves seamlessly between his partially autobiographically-inspired Indian immigrant graduate student Kailash and numerous real-life figures and events. Kailash arrived in New York as...

The Widows of Malabar Hill [A Mystery of 1920s India, Book 1] by Sujata Massey [in Library Journal]

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

Versatile, charming, culturally well-matched Soneela Nankani auspiciously voices Sujata Massey’s ("Rei Shimura" mysteries) promising new series set in early 20th-century colonial India. Here the author introduces feisty Perveen Mistry, India's first female solicitor in 1921. Perveen's debut dovetails her challenging career journey – from facing...

The Heart Is a Shifting Sea by Elizabeth Flock [in Library Journal]

17 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Indian, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost, South Asian

Journalist Elizabeth Flock's intention to write about "the Indian love story" – "because it seemed more honest and vulnerable," especially when compared to her parents' multiple failed marriages – began in 2008 when she first lived in Mumbai. Although a spinal injury unexpectedly sent her...

The Boat People by Sharon Bala [in Library Journal]

09 May, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, Canadian Asian Pacific American, Fiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American, Sri Lankan, Sri Lankan American

*STARRED REVIEW In Canadian novelist Sharon Bala’s debut, a 60-meter freighter reaches British Columbia in 2009, carrying 500 survivors of Sri Lanka's brutal civil war. The arrivals are herded into detention centers by a government fearful of terrorists hidden among these "boat people." Mahindran and his six-year-old...

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao [in Library Journal]

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

*STARRED REVIEW Difficult life circumstances bring together two Indian village girls: Poornima meets Savitha because Poornima's recently widowed father needs help weaving saris; clever, kind Savitha must help support her impoverished family. The pair are soon inseparable, nurturing each other in a society in which their...

Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao + Author Interview [in The Booklist Reader]

07 Mar, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, South Asian, South Asian American

“I can’t think of a happier story”: Shobha Rao talks GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER After 15 years of writing and 15 years being rejected, Shobha Rao made her fiction debut two years ago with An Unrestored Woman, a collection of a dozen impeccable stories – savage and...

The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art by Barb Rosenstock, illustrated by Claire A. Nivola [in Shelf Awareness]

29 Jan, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Indian, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Pakistani, Repost, South Asian

As a boy, Nek Chand "played and planted, laughed and listened ...

Malala’s Magic Pencil by Malala Yousafzai, illustrated by Kerascoët

28 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in British Asian, Children/Picture Books, European, Memoir, Nonfiction, Pakistani, South Asian, Translation

As the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize – in 2014 at age 17 – Malala Yousafzai is an internationally recognized icon for girls' education and empowerment. Her story here speaks to the youngest readers, instilling potential and hope, rather than highlighting the fear and...

Favorite Adult Books 2017 [in The Booklist Reader]

11 Dec, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, African, Black/African American, British Asian, Caribbean, Caribbean American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Japanese, Korean, Korean American, Lists, Native American/First Nations/Indigenous Peoples, Pakistani, Repost, South Asian, Translation

What sweet agony to have so many fantabulous, freakin’ spectacular books from which to cull. I’ve got my 2017 favorite adult titles down to a baker’s dozen, chosen under great duress. They’re presented in alphabetical order – opposed to actually ranked, a feat which just might...

10 Diverse Debut Story Collections [in The Booklist Reader]

16 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, African, Arab, Black/African American, British, British Asian, Caribbean, Chinese American, Fiction, Korean, Latina/o/x, Lists, North Korean, Repost, Short Stories, South Asian, South Asian American, Translation

Short-story collection The Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri’s first published book, won the Pulitzer Prize. Phil Klay’s debut collection, Redeployment, got him the National Book Award. Even Tom Hanks got in on the short story game with his debut book, Uncommon Type, out last month. Right now, eyes are...

A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee [in Library Journal]

06 Nov, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, British Asian, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian

*STARRED REVIEW The five "narrative parts" of this work, designated only with Roman numerals, comprise five styles: short story; first-person, faux memoir; folktale of sorts; 10-parts-plus-epilogue novella; and no-punctuation vignette. The connections require attention, with results well worth the reader's intriguing participation. An Indian American professor's tragedy-ensuing...

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy [in Library Journal]

27 Sep, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Indian, Repost, South Asian

Arundhati Roy’s 1997 Man Booker Prize-winning debut, The God of Small Things, made her an international superstar. Twenty years later, Delhi-based Roy is an activist power house – feted and feared – with an expansive list of nonfiction credits; her second novel should placate her...

The Windfall by Diksha Basu [in Christian Science Monitor]

26 Jun, by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Adult Readers, Fiction, Indian, Indian American, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American

'The Windfall' adroitly probes questions of money and true worth Mr. Jha, who not so long ago comfortably supported his family on a monthly salary equivalent to $200, sells his website for $20 million. That titular “windfall” transforms his life – and, of course, that of...

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