Jai Chakrabarti Wants to Know His Characters Intimately

I had the good fortune to be introduced to Jai Chakrabarti by my writer friend Amy Gottlieb, who correctly suspected that I’d love Jai’s work. His debut novel, A Play for the End of the World, got under my skin and stayed there, in the best way. His new story collection, A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness, out today, is set in India and America, exploring themes of deracination, family, and language. Together, the stories fill out a sparkling constellation.

I talked with Jai about his writing practice, South Asian literature,