Read The Folded Earth: A Novel Online
Authors: Anuradha Roy
The Folded Earth: A Novel
“Every once in a great while, a novel comes along to remind you why you rummage through the shelves in the first place. . . . This, you think, is the feeling you had as you read
Great Expectations
or
Sophie’s Choice
or
The Kite Runner
. This is why you read fiction at all.”
—
THE WASHINGTON POST
, on
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2011 MAN ASIAN LITERARY PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR
THE HINDU
LITERARY PRIZE FOR BEST FICTION 2011
WITH HER DEBUT NOVEL,
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
, Anuradha Roy’s exquisite storytelling instantly won readers’ hearts around the world, and the novel was named one of the best books of the year by
The Washington Post
and
The Seattle Times
.
Now, Roy has returned with another masterpiece that is already earning international prize attention, an evocative and deeply moving tale of a young woman making a new life for herself amid the foothills of the Himalaya. Desperate to leave a private tragedy behind, Maya abandons herself to the rhythms of the little village, where people coexist peacefully with nature. But all is not as it seems, and she soon learns that no refuge is remote enough to keep out the modern world. When power-hungry politicians threaten her beloved mountain community, Maya finds herself caught between the life she left behind and the new home she is determined to protect.
Elegiac, witty, and profound by turns, and with a tender love story at its core,
The Folded Earth
brims with the same genius and love of language that made
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
an international success and confirms Anuradha Roy as a major new literary talent.
“Precise and poetic . . . a story about love and hate, continuity and change, loss and grief in a convincing and memorable setting. . . . A worthy successor to her first novel.” —
THE INDEPENDENT
BONUS MATERIAL: INCLUDES A READING GROUP GUIDE AND AN EXCERPT FROM
AN ATLAS OF IMPOSSIBLE LONGING
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
•
THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS
•
COVER DESIGN BY ERIC FUENTECILLA
COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY LAUREN SLUSHER
©MACLEHOSE PRESS
ANURADHA ROY
is an editor at Permanent Black, an independent press. Her first novel,
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
, has been published in 16 countries and translated into 14 languages across the world. It has been named by
World Literature Today
as one of the 60 most essential books on modern India and was shortlisted for the Crossword Prize. Roy lives mainly in Ranikhet, India.
International Praise for
The Folded Earth
“A gently perceptive story, half comic and half poignant, of a woman’s struggle to forget her sorrows in new surroundings.”
—The Sunday Times
“Tight with life . . . Roy’s attention to individual words pays off as she conveys the full texture of experiences. . . . Even minor characters are evoked with inventive idiosyncrasy.”
—Daily Mail
“Pure pleasure, that old-fashioned sort of novel in which one can immerse oneself; an absolute treat.”
—
Businessworld
magazine
“Eminently readable, a literary novel that feels timeless and authentic.”
—
DNA
“[Roy’s] novel offers a vivid evocation of North India. She conjures up striking images with the lightest of touches.”
—The Tatler
“A jewel of a story.”
—
Deccan Herald
“A perfect treat . . . Roy brings her characters vividly and amusingly to life.”
—
Country and Town House
magazine
“There is a gentle perfection to the way Roy writes. . . . A beautiful love story . . . about people who love and long—impossibly?—and love again.”
—
The Hindu
“[Savour] this work. . . . I hear echoes of Anita Brookner and Edna O’Brien and other writers like them as Roy brings Maya and her travails to life.”
—
Biblio
“A book you will hold close to your heart long after the last page is turned.”
—
First City
magazine
“[A] deeply unsettling but beautiful novel . . . utterly enrapturing.”
—
For Books’ Sake
Praise for
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
“Refreshing . . . [Roy] defines her characters quickly and skillfully, she has a keen eye for landscape, and she knows how private lives can suggest the larger shape of the public world.”
—
The New York Times
“Set in mid-twentieth-century India, this debut novel spans generations and political upheavals, [chronicling] both the strength of domestic bonds and the wounds that parents and children, and husbands and wives, inflict on each other.”
—
The New Yorker
“Epic . . . [a] gorgeous, sweeping novel.”
—
Ms
magazine
“Impressive. . . . With her rich imagination, vivid descriptions, and skillful handling of events Roy weaves a tapestry of family life in India. . . . The story and characters stay with the reader for a long time. Roy is a writer to watch.”
—
The Seattle Times
“Roy’s prose soars with a lyricism that can take your breath away. . . . From her whirlwind opening sentences, readers know they’re in for a ride.”
—
Star Tribune
(Minneapolis)
“A novel to convince us that boldly drawn sagas with larger-than-life characters are still possible in a relentlessly postmodern world. . . . A sprawling epic of love, class and ambition.”
—
Denver Post
“An incandescently evocative debut novel filled with wrenching tragedy as well as abiding passion.”
—
Booklist
“[Roy] is a fabulous storyteller with a true gift for transporting the reader right into the heat, smells, and sights of India. . . . A poetic novel easily read again and again. A complete success and an excellent choice for a discussion group.”
—
Library Journal
“Impressive . . . the sounds, smells, and feel of Bengal come vividly to life. Cultures may differ, but longing and love are universal.”
—
Publishers Weekly
“In
An Atlas of Impossible Longing,
Anuradha Roy bravely explores love, the caste system, and familial lines in a vivid portrait of war-stricken twentieth-century India. This absorbing story defies prediction. Roy’s grace and mesmerizing language stayed with me long after I closed the book.”
—Katie Crouch, author of
Girls in Trucks
“A novel of beauty, poignancy, and gut-churning suspense. . . . A lyrical love letter to India’s past—an India of innocent child brides and jasmine-scented summer evenings. Poetic and evocative, Roy’s writing is a joy.”
—
Financial Times
“A story to lose yourself in . . . this tale of three generations of an Indian family, set over the span of the 20th century, is brilliantly told . . . intensely moving.”
—Sunday Express
“Roy’s novel is engaging from start to finish and difficult to put down.”
—Sunday Sun
“Recalls classics from
Great Expectations
to
The Cherry Orchard.
. . . Roy’s prose is luscious.”
—
The National
newspaper
“Now here is a perfect monsoon read: an exquisitely written first novel. . . . You might find yourself unbearably moved by her delicate probing of the fragility of love and longing.”
—India Today
Also by Anuradha Roy
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
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