South Asian writing has carved an incredible space between the Booker Prize circuit. These stories have the ability to transport readers from love to war via the streets of London, the villages of India and the shores of Sri Lanka. To shine a light onto these authors, The Bombay Circle Press has curated a list of South Asian writers who have graced the Booker stage.
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Lowland was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2013.
Subhash and Udayan were inseparable in childhood. They wandered the suburban streets of Calcutta before dusk and played for hours in the hyacinth-strewn ponds. But the years pass and riots sweep across India. Udayan – charismatic and impulsive – finds himself drawn to a rebellion waged to eradicate inequity and poverty. He will give everything, risk all, for what he believes, and in doing so will transform the futures of those dearest to him.
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Shehan Karunatilaka’s 2022 Booker Prize-winning novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida was only the author’s second novel, and the first from a Sri Lankan author to win the prize.
Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the serene Beira lake and he has no idea who killed him. In a country where scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts with grudges who cluster round can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to contact the man and woman he loves most and lead them to the photos that will rock Sri Lanka.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Arundhati Roy’s debut novel won the Booker Prize in 1997.
Set in Kerala in the 1960s, the novel paints a vivid picture of life in a rural Indian town, the thoughts and feelings of the two small children, and the complexity and hypocrisy of the adults in their world. It is also a poignant lesson in the destructive power of the caste system and moral and political bigotry in general.
Arundhati Roy’s poetic debut novel tells the story of twins Estha and Rahel, and the shocking consequences of a pivotal event in their young lives.
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid’s novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2007.
At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter…
Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by an elite valuation firm. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.
But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his relationship with Erica shifting. And Changez’s own identity is in a seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.
In the landscape of the global Booker Prize, South Asian cultures have earned well-deserved recognition. This list is just the acknowledgement of a few awardees among many, and a list that will keep growing as the years go by.
For more information about literary awards, reading recommendations and suggestions, consider following The Bombay Circle Press’ Bulletin.