Diversity Quota - Softcover

Adiga, Ranjan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 029934844X ISBN 13: 9780299348441

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2024

Synopsis

Complicating the idea of a single immigrant narrative, the stories in Diversity Quota move from the US to Nepal and back again, showing how displacement can lead to suffering or hope—sometimes simultaneously. In Kathmandu, Nepalis are frequently caught up in battles between tradition and progress; in the United States, their cultural dislocation is often emblematic of the larger predicaments immigrants face. Ranjan Adiga navigates these larger problems of racism, inequity, and gender roles, all the while centering the humanity of his characters, flaws and all.

In these stories, the lines between “winners” and “losers” in a rapidly globalizing world become frayed and warped. A Nepali migrant’s worst fears materialize in “Leech.” A couple in “Denver” tries to acclimate to a new social class. A middle-aged man is attracted to his barber in “Haircut and Massage.” A Nepali professor is captivated by a white American student in “The Diversity Committee.” In often unexpected ways, Adiga captures moments of survival amid worlds colored by precarity.

About this title

About the Author

Ranjan Adiga’s stories and articles have appeared in Story Quarterly, the New York Times, Huffington Post, and the Salt Lake Tribune, among others. Originally from Nepal, he now teaches creative writing at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 029934844X
• ISBN 13: 9780299348441
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 164