Tag Archives: The Lowland

USINPAC cheers for Indian American Jhumpa Lahiri who has been shortlisted for the 2013 U.S. National Book Award in fiction for her new novel, ‘The Lowland’

Days after being short listed for the Man Booker prize for her new novel, `The Lowland`, Pulitzer Prize winning Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri has been shortlisted for the 2013 U.S. National Book Award in fiction.

Lahiri`s tale of two brothers set in Kolkata of the 1960s has been listed along with nine other works, including Tom Drury`s `Pacific`, Elizabeth Graver`s `The End of the Point` and Rachel Kushner`s `The Flamethrowers.`

The National Book Foundation said finalists in the Young People`s Literature, Poetry, Nonfiction and Fiction categories would be announced on Oct 16 and the winners will be named at a ceremony in New York on Nov 20.

Born in London, 46-year-old Lahiri, who lives in Brooklyn, New York is the daughter of immigrants from West Bengal.

She is the author of three previous books. Her debut collection of stories, `Interpreter of Maladies`, won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Hemingway Award.

Her novel `The Namesake` was a New York Times Notable Book and was selected as one of the best books of the year by USA Today and Entertainment Weekly, among other publications.

`The Namesake` was also adapted into a film of the same name by acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair.

Her second book of short stories, `Unaccustomed Earth`, was named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review.

In a review of her latest novel, the New York Times noted: “Jhumpa Lahiri first made her name with quiet, meticulously observed stories about Indian immigrants trying to adjust to new lives in the United States, stories that had the hushed intimacy of chamber music.”

“The premise of her new novel, `The Lowland,` in contrast, is startlingly operatic,” the influential U.S. daily said calling it “certainly Ms. Lahiri`s most ambitious undertaking yet,” that “eventually opens out into a moving family story.”

 

Source: Zee News

USINPAC cheers for Indian American author Jhumpa Lahiri’s Booker Nomination

Indian-American author Jhumpa Lahiri has made it to this year’s Man Booker Prize shortlist for her new fiction ‘The Lowland‘, an intimate portrayal of two brothers set in Kolkata of the 1960s.

Her tale, set in the suburban streets of Calcutta of the 1960s and told through the eyes of brothers Subhash and Udayan in ‘The Lowland‘, will compete alongside five other works of fiction for the coveted literary award worth 50,000 pounds to be announced here next month.

Born in London and based in New York, 46-year-old Lahiri is the daughter of Indian immigrants from West Bengal.

She is also a member of US President Barack Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

She won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction with her debut short story collection ‘Interpreter of Maladies‘ (1999) and her first novel ‘The Namesake‘ (2003) was adapted into a popular film of the same name by filmmaker Mira Nair.

Her writing is rooted in the Indian milieu and attempts to capture dislocation and ambivalence with a unique play of words.

The Lowland‘, released this month, is already being pitched as an easy front-runner among literary circles here.

Birmingham-based Jim Crace is also being touted as among the 2013 favourites for ‘Harvest‘, a novel about the fragile social eco-system of a remote English village, which the author has claimed will be his last.

Like Crace, Colm Toibin is also a previous nominee and is heading the list with ‘The Testament Of Mary‘ – about the mother of Jesus grieving angrily years after her son’s crucifixion.

If it wins, it will be the shortest novel to win the Booker with just 104 pages.

Eleanor Catton, 28, is the youngest to make the cut with her book ‘The Luminaries‘, while Ruth Ozeki with ‘A Tale For The Time Being’ and NoViolet Bulawayo ‘We Need New Names’ complete this year’s selection.

Robert Macfarlane, chair of the judges, said the shortlist was “instantly striking because of its global range“.

It shows the English language novel to be a form of world literature,” he said.

We looked for books that sought to extend the power and possibility of the form. This is in keeping with the history of the novel. We wanted novel novels,” he added.

Each of the six shortlisted writers will receive 2,500 pounds and a hand-bound edition of their book.

Source: Business Standard