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Chandra's collection of interconnected stories begins in an out-of-the-way bar in Bombay, as an enigmatic civil servant, Mr. Subramaniam, recounts an extraordinary sequence of tales to those seated around him. Each of the tales is rich in character and atmosphere and falls into a distinct genre: "Dharma" is a ghost story in which a soldier recuperating from a leg amputation discovers that his house is haunted by the spirit of a young child; "Kama" follows a detective as he investigates a murder and discovers a web of sexual and political misdoings; and in the love story, "Shanti," a twin brother is consumed by his love for a married woman.
"Love and Longing in Bombay stands out as a considerable accomplishment, one in which the author marries his storytelling prowess to a profound understanding of India's ageless and ever-changing society." - The New York Times.
"Each sumptuous and suspenseful tale is strikingly different from the others even as they all reflect the intricacies of Indian culture and Chandra's profound sensitivity to the vagaries of the heart and the implacability of circumstances." - Booklist.
"A brilliant work, equally effective in its radiant separate parts and as a pleasingly complex and highly original construction." - Kirkus Reviews.
"Impeccably controlled, intelligent, sensuous and sometimes grim, Chandra's timeless and timely book is remarkably life-affirming, considering the dark areas of the heart he explores." - Publishers Weekly.
This information about Love and Longing in Bombay was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: Melanie Abrams
Vikram Chandra was born in 1961 in New Delhi. and completed most of his secondary education at Mayo College, a boarding school in Ajmer, Rajasthan. After a short stay at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai, he came to the United States as an undergraduate student. In 1984, he graduated from Pomona College (in Claremont, near Los Angeles) with a magna cum laude BA in English, with a concentration in creative writing. He then attended the Film School at Columbia University in New York. While in the Columbia library he happened upon the autobiography of Colonel James "Sikander" Skinner, a legendary nineteenth century soldier, born of an Indian mother and a British father. This book inspired him to write his first novel Red Earth and Pouring Rain, most...
... Full Biography
Link to Vikram Chandra's Website
Name Pronunciation
Vikram Chandra: Vik (rhymes with sick)-rum, Chund-rah
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