We That Are Young: WINNER of the DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR FICTION, 2019 - Softcover

Preti Taneja

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1910296783 ISBN 13: 9781910296783

Publisher: Galley Beggar Press, 2017

* Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize * Shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize * Shortlisted for the Jan Michalski Prize * Sunday Times books of the year * Guardian books of the year * Spectator books of the year * The Hindu books of the year *

When Jivan Singh returns to his childhood home after a long absence, it's only to witness the unexpected resignation of Devraj, the founding father of the Company, a vast corporation at the heart of Indian life. On the same day, Devraj's youngest daughter Sita absconds - refusing to submit to marriage. Her older sisters Radha and Gargi are handed their father's company...

So begins a vicious struggle for power, ranging from the luxury hotels of New Delhi and Amritsar, the palaces and slums of Napurthala, to the beautiful, broken city of Srinagar, Kashmir.

We That Are Young is a modern-day King Lear that bursts with energy and fierce, beautifully measured rage. It presents a startling insight into modern India, the rise of religious nationalism, the clash of youth and age, the intensity of life (and the ever-present spectre of death) in one of the world's fastest growing economies. It is the tragedy of our times - for all time.

Review:

"Revelatory... Urgent and irresistible... One of the most exquisite and original novels of the year." (The Sunday Times)

"Dazzlingly original... A masterpiece." (The Spectator)

"It is like nothing else. ... Its daring is outrageous." (Literary Review)

"Brilliant... So finely crafted... Preti Taneja has given us that rarest of beasts, a page-turner that is also unabashedly political." (The Guardian)

"[Taneja] cuts rage with poetry... the cumulative effect is urgent and exhilarating... A national epic." (The TLS)

"Sharp, cogent and evocative... the great appeal of We That Are Young concerns the serving of justice - discovering who gets what, as opposed to who deserves what." (New Statesman)

"Misogyny, religious and caste prejudice, plus the madness of money all make for a magnificent, dark and satirical drama." (Marie Claire)

"We That Are Young... paints a picture of India we won't easily forget. An instant classic." (The Times of India)

"We That Are Young grapples with colonial inheritances, gender roles, nationalism... And it manages to do all this while remaining a riveting page-turner." --(The Hindu)
"A powerful, engrossing, generous chronicle of family and politics in contemporary India, perfectly constructed, magnificently written, by a novelist with a golden ear and a silver voice." (Jim Crace)

"A novel on the grand scale but not grandiose: wide in its cultural reference, profound in its resonance, lofty in moral judgement... We That Are Young is as remarkable to the ear as it is revelatory to the soul." (Desmond Elliott Prize for Fiction)

"Utterly engrossing, very smart, very moving... Subtle, ambitious, and highly original." (Andrew Motion)

"A brilliant, sharp adaptation, [where] Preti Taneja shows her profound understanding not just of Shakespeare and India, but of human nature itself." --(Vishal Bhardwaj)
'Taneja maintains layers in her writing that overreach the simple fantasies to which we are accustomed to. .... A shining achievement." (The White Review)

"Gripping and finely plotted... I found myself closing the book from time to time to catch my breath, to make sense of the quiet terror Taneja can make one feel." (Scroll.in)

"Explosive, tumultuous and tender... We That Are Young stands tall as a tragedy of women." (Open Magazine)

"A fiercely political, revelatory read... One of 2017's finest debuts." (Phoenix)

"The best book set in India since A Suitable Boy. Taneja writes gloriously." (Backlisted)

"Intense, detailed and engrossing... As if reworking Shakespeare's King Lear weren't enough of a challenge, Preti Taneja also tasks herself with turning the epic power-struggle into a call to arms for social change." --(The Asian Review of Books)

About the Author:

PRETI TANEJA was born and grew up in the UK. She teaches writing in prisons and in universities, and has worked with youth charities and in conflict and post conflict zones on minority and cultural rights. She is the co-founder of ERA Films, and of Visual Verse, the anthology of art and words. We That Are Young is her debut novel.

• Publisher: Galley Beggar Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1910296783
• ISBN 13: 9781910296783
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 503