LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
Shifting between India and England, Anuradha Roy’s The Earthspinner is a mesmerising, musical, exquisitely-shaped novel that traverses continents and times, following the rise and fall of fortunes, the rise of religious extremism, and the calamitous costs of going against the grain. Infused with art and passion in all its forms, this is a story to savour. A tale that casts a cleverly concocted spell with long-lingering magic.
Sara has left her family in India to study in England, where loneliness drives her to return to pottery, and to reflect on moments and figures from her childhood, including Chinna, the dog that united her community, and Elango, her former pottery teacher, a Hindu who faced extreme prejudice after falling in love with a Muslim woman.
Through Elango’s diary entries we see how he’s driven to create a mythical terracotta horse that bolted into his dream, his relationship with Chinna, and how extremism came to rise in a rural village, sparking violence and pain. Parallel to this, though ten years later, Sara is navigating the challenges of finding a new place in the world.
Joanne Owen
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The Earthspinner Synopsis
'A horse was in flames. It roamed beneath the ocean breathing fire . . . '
When he wakes up, Elango knows his life has changed. His dream will consume him until he gives it shape. The potter must create a terracotta horse whose beauty will be reason enough for its existence. Yet he cannot pin down from where it has galloped into his mind - the Mahabharata, or Trojan legend, or his anonymous potter-ancestors. Nor can he say where it belongs - in a temple compound, within a hotel lobby, or with Zohra, whom he despairs of ever marrying.
The astral, indefinable force driving Elango towards forbidden love and creation has unleashed other currents. A neighbourhood girl begins her bewildering journey into adulthood, developing a complicated relationship with him. A lost dog adopts him, taking over his heart. Meanwhile, his community is driven by inflammatory passions of a different kind. Here, people, animals, and even the gods live on a knife's edge and the consequences of daring to dream against the tide are cataclysmic.
Moving between India and England, The Earthspinner reflects the many ways in which the East encounters the West. It breathes new life into ancient myths, giving allegorical shape to the war of fanaticism against reason and the imagination. It is an intricate, wrenching novel about the changed ways of loving and living in the modern world.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781914495007 |
| Publication date: |
9th September 2021 |
| Author: |
Anuradha Roy |
| Publisher: |
Mountain Leopard an imprint of Welbeck Publishing Group |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
224 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Modern and Contemporary Fiction
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Press Reviews
Anuradha Roy Press Reviews
PRAISE FOR ANURADHA ROY:
'A writer of great subtlety and intelligence, who understands that emotional power comes from the steady accretion of detail' Kamila Shamsie, Guardian.
'She writes elegantly and intelligently whatever the subject matter' Francesca Angelini, The Times.
'A compulsively readable novel' -- Manil Suri, New York Times
Author
About Anuradha Roy
Anuradha Roy won the Economist Crossword Prize, India's premier award for fiction, for her novel The Folded Earth, which was nominated for several other prizes including the Man Asia, the D.S.C., and the Hindu Literary Award. Her first novel, An Atlas of Impossible Longing, has been widely translated and was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and The Seattle Times.
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