As the year nears its end, the literary world has been brimming with remarkable novels that have already captured the attention of critics, readers, and awards panels alike. Here is the round up of the fictions that won prestigious awards this month.
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Award: Booker Prize Award 2024
A team of astronauts aboard the International Space Station spends their days collecting data, conducting experiments, and observing the beauty of Earth as it spins below them. They watch glaciers, deserts, mountains, and oceans, taking in endless scenes of wonder. But even in the vastness of space, they cannot escape the pull of life on Earth. News of a loved one's death and the approach of a typhoon stir feelings of connection and concern. As they ponder the fragility of human life, they begin to question: What is life without Earth, and what is Earth without humanity?
Lorenzo Searches for the Meaning of Life by Upamanyu Chatterjee
Award: JCB Prize for Literature 2024
In the summer of 1977, nineteen-year-old Lorenzo Senesi from Aquilina, Italy, breaks his forearm in a crash, prompting deep questions about his life. After recovering, he joins a Benedictine monastery near Padua, where he spends ten years before moving to a remote ashram in Bangladesh. There, he dedicates himself to prayer, physiotherapy, and service, while unexpectedly falling in love. Upamanyu Chatterjee’s novel is a quiet exploration of the spiritual journey, capturing both the majesty and simplicity of a life devoted to service, marking a new chapter in the career of one of India’s most distinctive writers.
History's Angel by Anjum Hasan
Award: Literature Live Fiction Book of the Year Award 2024
Alif, a mild-mannered history teacher in contemporary Delhi, grapples with personal and societal pressures—his wife’s pursuit of status, his son’s desire for wealth, and the prejudice he faces as a Muslim teaching India’s history. When a school incident leads to a crisis at work, Alif’s life unravels, mirroring the rising tensions in his city. In this darkly comic and poignant novel, Anjum Hasan explores the challenges of being a Muslim in India and the weight of history in an indifferent world.
The Memoirs of Valmiki Rao by Lindsay Pereira
Award: Literature Live Fiction Book of the Year Award 2024
The novel charts the story of families torn apart by bigotry, an unmissable retelling of the epic Ramayana set at a time when blood mixed with the grime of Mumbai's streets. In Mumbai during the early 90s, as the Ram Janmabhoomi movement peaks and the Babri Masjid falls, a retired postman living alone in a decaying room reflects on the chaos of those turbulent months and how they reshaped the lives of everyone around him. This is the story of Rameshwar Shinde, Ravinarayan Kumar, and Janaki, a young woman caught in their world, along with the neighbors they live alongside in the shadows of towering buildings.
James by Percival Everett
Award: National Book Award for Fiction 2024
A profound reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, this novel explores identity, belonging, and the sacrifices made for loved ones. In 1861, enslaved Jim hides on Jackson’s Island after learning he will be sold and separated from his family. Meanwhile, Huck Finn fakes his death to escape his abusive father. The two embark on a perilous raft journey down the Mississippi River, each bend offering both hope and danger. As war looms, Jim confronts the heavy burden of protecting his family while living a lie, and together they face a harrowing odyssey.
?A Part Apart by B.R. Ambedkar
Award: National India Foundation Prize
?A Part Apart offers a deep dive into B.R. Ambedkar’s life, exploring the intellectual journey that shaped his legacy. Ashok Gopal examines Ambedkar’s writings, speeches, and influences, shedding light on key questions: Why did he reject Hinduism? What were his conflicts with Gandhi and Savarkar? How did his Western education shape his activism, from the Mahad water struggle to drafting the Indian Constitution? Gopal also explores the personal toll of Ambedkar’s ideas, including the impact on his first wife, Ramabai, and the philosophers who shaped his worldview. This book uncovers the intellectual and emotional forces behind one of India’s most iconic figures.
Words Platform Desk
Date 26.11.2024