The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru
A magnificent debut novel which is set to be the WHITE TEETH of 2002. THE IMPRESSIONIST is a comic saga about history, identity and home. A boy is born in Agra - half Indian, half English - at the dawn of the twentieth century. Ejected from his father's house as a teenager when his true parentage is revealed, he embarks on an unforgettable odyssey in search of a home and an identity. Set against the vast, colourful background of colonial India, England and Africa, this epic novel brings tolife a riotous cast of characters, and asks what it means to be Indian or English, black or white, or both.
Breathtaking in scope and peopled with a cast of fantastical characters, this debut from the young heir apparent to Zadie Smith's throne is undeniably impressiveIt tells the story of Pran Nath - a 'blackie-whitey' (i.e. of mixed parentage) who is cast from the family home when the identity of his real, English father is discovered. He is then taken in by some eunuch prostitutes, that being one of the more normal fates to befall him. Set in India in the early decades of the 20th century, it captures well the everyday madness of that bewildering country, but for some, the endless hyphenated names, digressions into Moghul history and bizarre scene upon bizarre scene will be too much. One exotic dish in a restaurant is enjoyable - 10 in a row can begin to cloy.
Hari Kunzru is the author of the novels The Impressionist, Transmission, My Revolutions and Gods Without Men, and the story collection Noise. He lives in New York and his next novel, White Tears, will be published by Hamish Hamilton in spring 2017.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780241141694 |
| ISBN 10 | 0241141699 |
| Title | The Impressionist |
| Author | Hari Kunzru |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2002-03-28 |
| Number of pages | 496 |
| Prizes | Winner of Somerset Maugham Award 2003, Winner of Betty Trask Award 2002, Short-listed for Whitbread Book Awards: First Novel Category 2002, Short-listed for Whitbread Prize (First Novel) 2002 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |