The Earthspinner

Description

Sara is studying at a prestigious British university and seeks a reprise from her loneliness by practising the traditional craft she learned in India when she was young: pottery. She recalls her childhood, the lost dog, Chinna, who brings a community together, and the life of her revered pottery teacher, Elango, a Hindu who faced prejudice after falling in love with a Muslim woman. Switching with ease between Sara's diary entries and Elango's life a decade earlier, Roy delivers a searing exploration into the fragility of peace. As fortunes change within one explosive day, and religious extremism brings hurt and violence to a rural village, the consequences of daring to dream against the tide are unleashed. Moving its protagonists between India and Britain, The Earthspinner shows the many ways in which the East encounters the West, fanaticism wars tirelessly against reason, and the individual's creative desires struggle against a populace's basic instinct for destruction. Roy's fifth novel will delight her many faithful readers and is sure to appeal to new audiences. She has delivered a story of immigration, prejudice, art, and love for our era.

Anuradha is one of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary novelists and her books have been translated into more than 15 languages. In 2000 she co-founded with her husband Rukun Advani the Indian publishing house, Permanent Black. She is an accomplished potter. Born in Calcutta, she lives in Ranikhet.

PRAISE FOR ANURADHA ROY: 'A writer of great subtlety and intelligence, who understands that emotional power comes from the steady accretion of detail' Kamila Shamsie, Guardian. 'She writes elegantly and intelligently whatever the subject matter' Francesca Angelini, The Times. 'A compulsively readable novel' -- Manil Suri, New York Times