South Asian Novelists in English : An A-to-Z Guide

With the publication of Salman Rushdie's Booker Prize winning novel, ^IMidnight's Children^R in 1981, followed by the unprecedented popularity of his subsequent works, the cinematic adaptation of Michael Ondaatje's ^IThe English Patient,^R many other best-sellers written by South Asian novelists writing in English have gained a tremendous following. This reference is a guide to their lives and writings. The volume focuses on novelists born in South Asia who have written and continue to write about issues concerning that region. Some of the novelists have published widely, while others are only beginning their literary careers. The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries on more than 50 South Asian novelists. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the novelist's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies. Since many of the contributors are personally acquainted with the novelists, they are able to offer significant insights. The volume closes with a selected bibliography of studies of the South Asian novel in English, along with a list of anthologies and periodicals. Contents 8 Introduction 12 MEENA ALEXANDER (1951– ) 18 MULK RAJ ANAND (1905– ) 23 ANJANA APPACHANA (1972– ) 29 JEAN ARASANAYAGAM (1930– ) 33 VIKRAM CHANDRA (1961– ) 38 UPAMANYU CHATTERJEE (1959– ) 44 AMIT CHAUDHURI (1962– ) 49 NIRAD CHANDRA CHAUDHURI (1897–1999) 55 KAMALA DAS (1934– ) 60 ANITA DESAI (1937– ) 64 SHASHI DESHPANDE (1938– ) 71 FARRUKH DHONDY (1944– ) 78 CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI (1956– ) 81 INDIRA GANESAN (1960– ) 86 ZULFIKAR GHOSE (1935– ) 89 AMITAV GHOSH (1956– ) 95 YASMINE GOONERATNE (1935– ) 100 JAMES GOONEWARDENE (1921–1997) 105 ROMESH GUNESEKERA (1954– ) 110 SUNETRA GUPTA (1965– ) 117 KAIZAD GUSTAD (1968– ) 120 MOHSIN HAMID (1971– ) 124 GITHA HARIHARAN (1957– ) 128 RAJ KAMAL JHA (1966– ) 132 FIRDAUS KANGA (1961– ) 135 MANJU KAPUR (1949?– ) 139 MUKUL KESAVAN (1957– ) 142 ADIB KHAN (1949– ) 145 CHANDANI LOKUGE (19??– ) 149 MANOHAR MALGONKAR (1913– ) 153 KAMALA MARKANDAYA (1935– ) 158 GITA MEHTA (1943– ) 166 VED MEHTA (1934– ) 170 PANKAJ MISHRA (1969– ) 175 ROHINTON MISTRY (1952– ) 179 BHARATI MUKHERJEE (1940– ) 186 KIRAN NAGARKAR (1942– ) 194 SUNITI NAMJOSHI (1941– ) 198 KIRIN NARAYAN (1959– ) 203 R. K. NARAYAN (1906–2001) 210 MICHAEL ONDAATJE (1943– ) 218 VICTOR RANGEL-RIBEIRO (1925– ) 224 RAJA RAO (1910– ) 229 ARUNDHATI ROY (1960– ) 235 SALMAN RUSHDIE (1947– ) 240 NAYANTARA SAHGAL (1927– ) 252 I. ALLAN SEALY (1951– ) 260 SHYAM SELVADURAI (1965– ) 264 VIKRAM SETH (1952– ) 268 BULBUL SHARMA (1952– ) 274 BAPSI SIDHWA (1938– ) 277 KHUSHWANT SINGH (1915– ) 282 SARA SULERI (1953– ) 289 MANIL SURI (1959– ) 294 SHASHI THAROOR (1956– ) 298 ARDASHIR VAKIL (1962– ) 305 MOYEZ G.VASSANJI (1950– ) 309 Selected Bibliography 314 Index 318 A 318 B 318 C 318 D 319 E 319 F 319 G 319 H 319 I 319 J 319 K 320 L 320 M 320 N 320 O 320 P 320 Q 320 R 321 S 321 T 321 U 321 V 321 W 321 About the Editor and Contributors 322 "The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries on more than 50 South Asian novelists. Each entry is written by an expert contributor and includes a biography, a discussion of major works and themes, a summary of the novelist's critical reception, and primary and secondary bibliographies. Since many of the contributors are personally acquainted with the novelists, they are able to offer significant insights. The volume closes with a selected bibliography of studies of the South Asian novel in English, along with a list of anthologies and periodicals."--BOOK JACKET Profiles more than fifty novelists from South Asia and discusses each author's major works, literary themes, and critical reception.