The Inheritance of Loss
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| The Inheritance of Loss | |
 |
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| Author | Kiran Desai |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton |
| Publication date | 31 August 2006 |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages | 336 hardback edition); 357 p. (paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-241-14348-9 (hardback) & ISBN 0-8021-4281-8 (paperback) |
The Inheritance of Loss is a novel by Kiran Desai. It was first published in 2006 and won the Man Booker Prize for that year as well as the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award in 2007.[1]
Desai's second book, it was written over a period of seven years after her first book, the critically acclaimed Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard.[2][3] Among its main themes are migration and living in between two worlds and in between past and present.
Set in the 1980s, the book tells the story of Jemubhai Popatlal Patel, a judge living out a disenchanted retirement in Kalimpong, a hill station in the Himalayan foothills, and his relationship with his granddaughter Sai. Another element in the novel is the encroachment on their lives by a band of Nepalese insurgents. Another concern of the novel is the life of Biju, the son of Mr. Patel's cook, an illegal immigrant in New York.
In November 2006, it was reported that the inhabitants of Kalimpong were angered by what were allegedly negative stereotypes of Indian Nepalese people in the novel.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ "And the 2006 NBCC Award for Fiction Goes to ...". Press release. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
- ^ Booker Prize Foundation (10 October 2006). "The Inheritance of Loss Wins the Man Booker Prize 2006". Press release. Retrieved on 2006-10-10.
- ^ Kiran Desai Interview on the blog Jabberwock January 20, 2006, retrieved 2nd February 2007.
- ^ Book-burning threat over town's portrayal in Booker-winning novel | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited Thursday November 2, 2006, retrieved 2nd January 2007.
[edit] External links
- Review by BBC News
- Review by Boston.com
- Review by NY Times, includes MP3 of author reading from the book
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by The Sea |
Man Booker Prize recipient 2006 |
Succeeded by The Gathering |
