''Land Where I Flee'' is a novel by an Nepali speaking Indian writer
Prajwal Parajuly
Prajwal Parajuly (né Sharma; born 24 October 1984) is an Indian writer whose works focus on Nepali-speaking people and their culture. Parajuly's works include the short-story collection ''The Gurkha's Daughter'' and novel '' Land Where I Flee''. ...
. It was published on November 14, 2013 by
Quercus
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...
.
It is the first novel and the second book of the author who had previously published a collection of short stories titled ''
The Gurkha's Daughter
The Gurkha's Daughter is a collection of short stories by Indian author Prajwal Parajuly, describing and dramatizing the experiences of Nepali-speaking people and the Nepali diaspora. The ''Hindustan Times'' described it as the "best short story ...
'' which was shortlisted for
Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...
.
Synopsis
The book centers around a Nepali-Indian family from the state of Sikkim. Chitralekha Neupaney, a 84 year old woman is the matriarch of the family who has raised her grandchildren after their parents passed away. On the occasion of her 84th birthday (''Chaurasi''), there is a reunion in the family of those four grandchildren who live in different parts of the world. Prasanti is the eunuch maid of the house who is very bossy. The novel deals with various themes like identity and family.
Characters
* Chitralekha Neupaney, a 84 year old matriarch of the house
* Prasanti, the eunuch help of the household
* Bhagwati, one of the four grandchildren
* Agastya, one of the four grandchildren
* Ruthwa, one of the four grandchildren
* Manasa, one of the four grandchildren
Translation
It was translated into French as ''Fuir et Revenir'' by Benoîte Dauvergne.
Reception
The French translation of the book was nominated for France’s
First Novel Prize. The book was also longlisted for the
Emile Guimet Prize. Manjula Narayan of ''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' praised the book as "one of the best novels of the year' in his review. Jane Housham called it as "a caustic look at family life" in her review for ''
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 ...
''.
See also
* ''
The Gurkha's Daughter
The Gurkha's Daughter is a collection of short stories by Indian author Prajwal Parajuly, describing and dramatizing the experiences of Nepali-speaking people and the Nepali diaspora. The ''Hindustan Times'' described it as the "best short story ...
''
* ''
Faatsung
''Song of the Soil'' (Original title: ''Faatsung''; ne, फातसुङ) is a 2019 Nepali language, Nepali novel by Chuden Kabimo. The novel is based on the Gorkhaland movement revolution that took place during 1980s in the northern part of W ...
''
*
''The Wayward Daughter''
References
{{Reflist
2013 Indian novels
Novels with gay themes
LGBT literature in India
Novels set in Sikkim
Quercus (publisher) books