Kiran Desai

It's actually true for any of the tasks we have in life.

And I'm reading a good fiction book called The Inheritance of Loss by Kieran Desai.

And it's just a great book.

She's a great writer.

Uh, why don't you say it first?

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai.

That's what I have as number two.

Okay.

Um, and up until last year when The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny was coming out, I really, and I think you did too, underestimated how much people loved this book.

Crazily underestimated it.

And, and not just that they loved it at the time, but they continue to have huge affection for The In- Inheritance of Loss and for Kiran Desai.

Um, it won the National Book Critics Circle Award.

So I think, of course, he was legendary as a book reviewer, and had very Catholic taste in the books that he chose to feature on NPR.

And so we have one of his reviews of Kieran Desai's early novel in the anthology as well.

Susie and I both had Alan when we were students here.

Oh, wonderful.

In No Great Mischief, we meet a destitute drunk and an orthodontist.

And in Kiran Desai's book, we meet young, talented Indian immigrants who seem to be willingly surrendering their identity to others.

But in truth, none of this is true.

And part of the joy of these novels is that we have to be patient and wait.

It takes courage to do that.

And then, of course, Stafford Hopkins in my book, who finally has the courage to say yes to something of real value and get on with it.

In Kiran Desai's book, we have our two Indian immigrants, Sonia, who is trying to reclaim her identity, and that takes courage, and Sunny, who is coming to grips with the rejection of assimilation, at least on the terms of other people.

So I saw links there.

You've got huge.

I mean, this year, who have you got? Kieran Desai.

I've just done her in Edinburgh.

She was amazing.

And Tanja, if I could invite you to come back in again here, because, of course, what's so interesting, I chair in lots of different countries.

And what's interesting is what Janet points out is that the reception of the same book in a different country is entirely different.

So, for instance, someone like Kieran Desai with The Loneliness of Sonia and Sonia.

That's read in some ways.

The same book can produce a completely different conversation in Edinburgh, Ubud, or Jaipur.

I mean, today, or rather tomorrow, I'm speaking to Kiran Desai.

Now, of course, she won the Booker for her, her first novel, her debut 20 years ago.

Then she vanished.