Vivek Shanbhag

A taut story of hidden violence and self-deception from "an Indian Chekhov" (Suketu Mehta)An upper-middle class couple in Bangalore, Venkat and Viji, find their quiet life upended--and the flaws in their marriage exposed--when two strange young men come knocking at their door in the middle of the night, claiming to have business with their daughter, Rekha, a college senior who happens to be visiting relatives in the countryside. Venkat--a narrator whose account of his marriage, and of the lives of his wife and daughter, we soon learn to doubt--sends the boys away, but they come back the next day, and now they're not alone.While Venkat begins to fear for his daughter's safety, he is haunted by the memory of a betrayal and disappearance from long ago. As his guilt-ridden imagination leaps between knowing and unknowing, evasion and confrontation, Shanbhag reveals not just the tensions in a marriage or a family, but also the polarization of Indian politics and the resurgence of the Hindu right.Precise, enigmatic, and suspenseful, Sakina's Kiss fulfills the promise of Vivek Shanbhag's lauded debut, Ghachar Ghochar, which Parul Sehgal called "A great Indian novel...elegant, lean, balletic" (The New York Times).

From a master of contemporary Indian fiction, an expertly crafted and taut family drama, set over the course of four days. 'A delightful read.' Abraham Verghese'Extraordinary.' Geetanjali Shree'A writer of rare and wonderful gifts.' Garth Greenwell 'One of those writers whose voice takes your breath away.' Yiyun Li A middle-class couple in Bengaluru, Venkat and Viji, find their quiet life upended - and the flaws in their marriage exposed - when two strange young men come knocking at their door one evening, claiming to have business with their daughter, Rekha. Since Rekha, a college senior, happens to be visiting relatives in the countryside, Venkat sends the boys away - but they come back the next day, and this time they're not alone. Venkat begins to fear for his daughter's safety and is haunted by memories of similar sinister events from his own youth, events that culminated in a betrayal and disappearance he'd prefer to forget. As Venkat's guilt-ridden imagination leaps between knowing and unknowing, evasion and confrontation, Shanbhag reveals not just the tensions in a marriage or a family, but also the fissures of class, politics and threatened violence that can tear communities apart.'Tense, taut and compulsively readable.' Deepa Anappara 'Vivek Shanbhag is probably the best writer writing in any language anywhere.' Mohammed Hanif

En ung man sitter på Kaffehuset, där han varit alldeles för ofta under den senaste tiden. Kyparens närvaro ger honom en smula lugn då han har svårt att bringa klarhet i sina tankar. De är tilltrasslade på ett sätt som påminner om ordet "ghachar ghochar" – det alldeles egna uttryck som hans hustru Anita anförtrott honom under bröllopsnatten. Men deras stund av närhet är långt borta nu. Och ännu mer avlägsen är tiden då han tillsammans med sina föräldrar och sin syster bodde i ett trångt och enkelt hus. När hans farbror nått framgång med sitt kryddföretag flyttade de istället till ett hem som var så stort att det var svårt att möblera. I överflödet av mat och vackra kläder styrs deras samvaro snart av nya villkor.Ghachar Ghochar är en internationellt hyllad berättelse om rikedom och moralisk undergång. Den har kallats den finaste indiska romanen på ett decennium och Vivek Shanbhag har jämförts med Tjechov.”Gömt i detta komprimerade och täta psykologiska porträtt av en familj ryms ett helt universum … Det är elegant och effektivt, en balett ..." – The New York Times"En modern klassiker." – The New York Times Book Review”En mästerlig lektion i att bygga en historia och det outsagdas kraft.” – The Guardian”I Ghachar Ghochar möter vi en mästare.” – The Paris Review***** – The Independent

'One of the finest literary works you will ever encounter.' Irish Times 'A jewel of a novel.' Times Literary Supplement 'A stunning satire.' Observer 'India's finest writer.' HeraldIt's true what they say, it's not we who control the money, it's the money that controls us. A close-knit family is delivered from near-destitution to sudden wealth after a miraculous change in fortune. But family dynamics begin to shift when the narrator moves with his sister, his parents, and his uncle from a cramped shack to a huge home and encounters new-found wealth. As the dream of middle-class, aspirational living comes true, allegiances and desires realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background.

""WHEN AN IMPOVERISHED BUT CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY UNDERGOES AN ALMOST MIRACULOUS CHANGE IN FORTUNE, OLD AND TRUSTED CERTAINTIES ARE UNDERMINED: ALLEGIANCES AND DESIRES REALIGN, A MARRIAGE COLLAPSES, AND TENSIONS BUILD UNSTOPPABLY TOWARDS A DEVASTATING CONFLICT. IN THIS TRANSFORMATIVE NOVEL BY THE ACCLAIMED KANNADA WRITER VIVEK SHANBHAG, A FAMILY'S UNEXPECTED ASCENT FROM AN ANT-RIDDEN SHACK TO MIDDLE-CLASS LIVING SKILFULLY PEELS AWAY THE VENEER OF AN ASPIRATIONAL SOCIETY. THE FAMILY'S WORLD BECOMES "GHACHAR GHOCHAR'-A NONSENSE PHRASE THAT, TO THE RESTLESS, UNNAMED NARRATOR OF THE BOOK, COMES TO MEAN SOMETHING ENTANGLED BEYOND REPAIR. TOLD IN CLEAR COMPELLING PROSE, AND UNDERSCORED BY WARMTH AND HUMOUR, GHACHAR GHOCHAR IS A CAPTIVATING AND UNSETTLING STORY ABOUT THE SHIFTING MEANING-AND CONSEQUENCES-OF FINANCIAL GAIN IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA. IT IS A FABLE FOR MODERN LIVING THAT WILL RESONATE EVERYWHERE. "" हातातोंडाशी गाठ असलेल्या पण एका अनामिक धाग्यात बांधलेल्या एका एकत्र कुटुंबाची आर्थिक परिस्थिती एखादा चमत्कार व्हावा तशी बदलते तेव्हा, अनेक जुनीनवी गृहीतं मागे पडतात. इच्छा आणि नाती बदलतात, एक विवाह मोडतो, आणि विनाशक शेवटाकडे जाणारा तणाव निर्माण होतो, जो थोपवणं अशक्य असतं. मुंग्यांचा बेसुमार त्रास असलेल्या घरातून मध्यमवर्गीय सुरक्षित घरात जाणाऱ्या कुटुंबाच्या माध्यमातून सांपत्तिक प्रगतीकडे डोळे लावून बसलेल्या समाजाचं आतलं चित्र, विख्यात कन्नड लेखक विवेक शानभाग यांच्या बदलांचा ठाव घेणाऱ्या या कादंबरीतून स्पष्ट होतं. या कुटुंबाचं विश्वच घाचरगोचर होऊन जातं. इतरांसाठी हा शब्द निरर्थक असला तरी, या कादंबरीच्या अस्वस्थ, निनावी सूत्रधारासाठी ते दुरुस्त करण्यापलिकडचं काहीतरी होऊन जातं. स्पष्ट, वाचत राहावी अशी शैली, त्यासोबतच नर्मविनोदाची पखरण, आणि माणसांमधला ओलावा असलेली ही घाचरगोचर नावाची गोष्ट. सध्याच्या भारतात श्रीमंत होण्याचा अर्थ आणि त्याचे परिणाम यांचे बदलते संदर्भ उलगडून दाखवते. आधुनिक जगण्याच्या या कहाणीचे पडसाद इतरत्रही जाणवतात.

ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES CRITICS' TOP BOOKS OF 2017FINALIST FOR THE L.A. TIMES BOOK PRIZE IN FICTION "A modern classic." --The New York Times Book Review A young man's close-knit family is nearly destitute when his uncle founds a successful spice company, changing their fortunes overnight. As they move from a cramped, ant-infested shack to a larger house on the other side of Bangalore, and try to adjust to a new way of life, the family dynamic begins to shift. Allegiances realign; marriages are arranged and begin to falter; and conflict brews ominously in the background. Things become "ghachar ghochar"--a nonsense phrase uttered by one meaning something tangled beyond repair, a knot that can't be untied. Elegantly written and punctuated by moments of unexpected warmth and humor, Ghachar Ghochar is a quietly enthralling, deeply unsettling novel about the shifting meanings--and consequences--of financial gain in contemporary India. "A classic tale of wealth and moral ruin." --The New Yorker "Ghachar Ghochar introduces us to a master." --The Paris Review Named a Best Book of the Year by the Guardian, Globe and Mail, and Publishers Weekly Named one of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century by VultureShortlisted for the ALTA National Translation Award in ProseLonglisted for the International Dublin Literary Award

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