''Gifted'' is the
debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...
by author
Nikita Lalwani
Nikita Lalwani FRSL is a novelist born in Kota, Rajasthan and raised in Cardiff, Wales.
Her work has been translated into sixteen languages. She studied English at Bristol University.
Her first book, ''Gifted'' (2007), was longlisted for th ...
longlisted for the
Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
and shortlisted for the
Costa First Novel Award. It was first published in 2007 by
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
.
Plot introduction
The novel is set in the 1980s Cardiff where maths prodigy Rumi Vasi grows up with her
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
parents. Subjected to her father's strict tutoring he is determined that she be accepted by
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
at the age of only fifteen. But on starting University she finds it hard to adapt to her new-found freedom.
References
External links
first 3 chaptersreviewfrom ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
''
reviewfrom ''
The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
''
reviewfrom ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
2007 British novels
Welsh novels
Novels set in Cardiff
Novels set in the 1980s
Anglo-Welsh novels
2007 debut novels
Viking Press books
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