by Preti Taneja
A stunning debut novel, a modern-day King Lear set in contemporary India: the tale of a battle for power within a turbulent family, for status within a nation in a constant state of transformation, and for the love and respect of a father disappearing into dementia.
Jivan Singh, the bastard scion of the Devraj family returns to his New Delhi childhood home at the age of twenty-three after fifteen years in the United States. His arrival coincides with the unexpected resignation of the founder and aging patriarch of the Company - its simple name belying its vast holdings across industry and entertainment, and the family's national renown. On the same day, Sita, Devraj's youngest daughter, disappears - refusing to marry the man her father wants for her. Now, Radha and Gargi, Sita's older sisters, are given the Company - and a brutal struggle for power begins.
Set against the backdrop of the anti-corruption protests that spread across India in 2011 and 2012, We That Are Young is brilliant in its fierce, incandescent storytelling and the energy of its prose. It tells a deeply insightful tale of India today, the pace of life in one of the world's fastest growing economies, the clash of youth and age, and the ever-present specter of death. But more than that, it is a novel about the human heart - and its inevitable breaking point.
"Starred Review. A long, challenging, but inspired modernization of a classicengaging, relevant, and very dark." - Kirkus
"Starred Review. Taneja's intricate, literary prose is heavy in both detail and reflection. This is a work of epic scope and depth that's bracingly of the current moment." - Publishers Weekjly
"Starred Review. Taneja writes with a passion and verve that reflects her human rights reporter and filmmaker background. Highly recommended for socially conscious readers." - Library Journal
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Preti Taneja was born in the England to Indian parents and spent most of her childhood holidays in New Delhi. She has worked as a human rights reporter and filmmaker in Iraq, Jordan, Rwanda, and Kosovo, and her work has been published in The Guardian and openDemocracy. A fellow at Warwick University, Preti's 2014 novella, Kumkum Malhotra, won the Gatehouse Press New Fictions Prize. She is also the editor of Visual Verse and was selected as an AHRC/BBC Radio 3 New Generation Thinker for 2014.
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