Author:Anita Desai
A triptych of beautifully crafted novellas make up Anita Desai's exquisite new book. Set in modern India, but where history still casts a long shadow, the stories move beyond the cities to places still haunted by the past, and to characters who are, each in their own way, masters of self-effacement.
Rich and evocative, remarkable in their clarity and sensuous in their telling, these stories remind us of the extraordinary yet delicate power of this pre-eminent writer.
Profoundly elegiac
—— Margaret Drabble , New StatesmanFrom a web of connections, Desai spins stories of history and loss that move the reader not with epiphanies, but through the sheer beauty of her storytelling
—— Time OutElegantly paced and smartly crafted
—— Fatima Bhutto , Financial TimesAnita Desai writes exquisitely
—— Allan Massie , ScotsmanBewitchingly beautiful
—— The TimesHer writing is sensuous, radical and uncannily perceptive
—— The TimesIndia's finest writer in English
—— IndependentShe is one of the best English language novelists of modern times
—— Daily TelegraphAmple proof of her pre-eminent brilliance in the short form…her acute probing of malfunctioning relationships are both provocative and highly entertaining
—— James Urquhart , Financial TimesI found her stories just as hard to put down as I used to; and repeated exposure to them just makes one appreciate the artistry even more… Simpson keeps her eyes open to what is around her, as well as to what is within her characters. It's the kind of detail that makes us wish she would hurry up so that we can read her thoughts about what's going on right now, the precise contours of our present anxieties. I suspect that she will have much to say, and be able to say it very well
—— Nicholas Lezard , GuardianA compact insight into the acclaimed writers work
—— Big IssueSimpson, to my mind, is one of the best contemporary chroniclers of womanhood that I’ve read. She manages to get under the skin of her characters in a way that makes you feel you know them and completely understand their anxieties, at each point in their lives
—— Bookbag.co.ukShe’s a genius at noticing and listening
—— Andrew O'Hagan , Scotland on SundayUnexpected tales, perfectly pitched…suggesting Simpson sprand fully formed when she began writing
—— Lesley McDowell , Sunday HeraldThe great thing about Helen Simpson – or one of the great things – is that she pins people down so beautifully…her phrases sparkle
—— William Leith , Evening StandardSimpson's meticulous fragments of contemporary self-delusion make beautiful narrative shapes out of the ordinary horrors of domestic life
—— John Mullan , Guardian