Another Country
Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, this is a superb second novel from the author of the multiple-award winning ‘Saraswati Park’.
Paris, London, Bombay: three cities form a backdrop to a journey through Leela’s twenties at the dawn of the new millennium, as she learns to negotiate the world, work, relationships and sex, and find some measure of authenticity.
Sharp, funny, and melancholy, Another Country brings a cool eye to friendship, love, and the idea of belonging in its movements through old and new worlds. As with her debut, Saraswati Park, Anjali Joseph’s beautiful, clear writing captures exactly both emotions and surroundings.
Praise for ‘Another Country’: -
”'Beautifully delineated … it is a measure of Joseph’s skill that despite being spiky, hopelessly indecisive and eternally dissatisfied, Leela remains such a sympathetic protagonist. The writing throughout is cool and clear, and whilst the overall tone of the novel is hauntingly melancholic, it is also distinguished by a refreshingly abrasive wit” - Peter Parker, Sunday Times
”'Joseph has an unerring instinct for detail that brings a scene to life … Her descriptions … are gorgeously vivid” - Sunday Telegraph
”'A brief, poetic novel about the attrition caused by, and the inadvertent but radiant surplus gained from, aimless drift. Its subtlety and skill, and the instinct for beauty that marked Joseph's first novel, confirm her unusual and immense talent.” - Amit Chaudhuri
”'Joseph's writing is rich and original. She can describe silences and what is left unsaid between her characters just as well as she describes what they do and say” - Observer
”'A readable and entertaining book” - Guardian
”'Subtle and affecting” - Catherine Taylor, Sunday Telegraph Books of the Year
”'Joseph’s eye for the myriad disappointments of young professional life is excruciatingly accurate, especially in the London section… Joseph is a skilled observer.” - Metro
”'Joseph has a sharp eye for detail, whether she’s writing about the slightly desperate attempts of ex-pats to create a social life, or the quirks of a rapidly changing Bombay” - Psychologies Magazine
”'Don’t Miss” - Woman & Home Magazine
”'Joseph is excellent at capturing the fleeting moments of success in provisional social life … she has an equally impressive instinct for the telling detail in relationships.” - Alex Clark, TLS
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