‘I knew there was something special about from its very first page. There was a confidence and distinctiveness to the narrative voice that was incredibly arresting and original. As Iis a wonderfully textured novel: there is humour and heartbreak, violence and love, and some dazzling set pieces. It has powerful things to say about trauma, on both the individual and the societal level; about collective cruelty and collective guilt; about freedom, justice, art and friendship. But above all, I was struck by the way it illuminates the tumultuous changes that have taken place in India over the last few decades and the impact they have had on each of the generations – especially the young. It felt like something I hadn’t read before, in its focus on the lives of young middle-class Indians, rooted in their culture yet global in their outlook, who are straddling modernity and tradition, and forging new relationships with their chosen families while also finding ways to relate to the generations that came before them.
