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Ritwik Ghosh, twenty-two and recently orphaned, finds the chance to start a new life when he arrives in England from Calcutta. But to do so, he must not only relive his entire past but also make sense of his relationship with his mother – scarred, abusive and all-consuming.
But Oxford holds little of the salvation Ritwik is looking for. Instead he moves to London, where he drops out of official existence into a shadowy hinterland of illegal immigrants. However, the story that Ritwik writes to stave off his loneliness – a Miss Gilby who teaches English, music and Western manners to the wife of a liberal zamindar – begins to find ghostly echoes in his life with his aged landlady, Anne Cameron. But then, one night, in the badlands of King’s Cross, Ritwik runs into the suave, unfathomable Zafar bin Hashm. As present and past of several lives collide, Ritwik’s own goes into free fall.
But Oxford holds little of the salvation Ritwik is looking for. Instead he moves to London, where he drops out of official existence into a shadowy hinterland of illegal immigrants. However, the story that Ritwik writes to stave off his loneliness – a Miss Gilby who teaches English, music and Western manners to the wife of a liberal zamindar – begins to find ghostly echoes in his life with his aged landlady, Anne Cameron. But then, one night, in the badlands of King’s Cross, Ritwik runs into the suave, unfathomable Zafar bin Hashm. As present and past of several lives collide, Ritwik’s own goes into free fall.
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Reviews
There is a freshness and energy to this debut that hints of greater things to come.
Fascinating.
There are a lot of subtle cultural ironies in Neel Mukherjee's debut novel, which is what makes the book such a delight ... A Life Apart is an elegant and accomplished debut, a novel of many shades. It blends the poignancy of a coming-of-age story with the rawer excitements of an urban thriller laced with sex and violence.
Mukherjee deftly interweaves the worlds of the arms trade, sex workers, fruit pickers and the Daily Mail, while also casting a light on the economic policies of the Raj, communal violence and the fragility of relationships conducted under the glare of history. But he never loses sight of his characters and their emotional upheaval. The growing tension is expertly handled, the ending unsurprising yet completely devastating.
Impressively assured debut.
Incisive and poetic, sensual and intelligent, a novel with great breadth, heart and courage.
Impressive...Mukherjee writes wryly and wonderfully...deeply engaging and brilliantly observed.
The writing... has a sculptured clarity. Assured and fearless... This is subtle, precise writing that penetrates character and motive with astringent humour.
Ambitious and subtly written.
Beautifully written.
A brilliant first novel... shockingly good.
Rich and nuanced ... Mukherjee is excellent on what motivates people to act the way they do.