A young man returns home to Delhi after several years abroad and resumes his place among the city's cosmopolitan elite - a world of fashion designers, media moguls and the idle rich. But everything around him has changed - new roads, new restaurants, new money, new crime - everything, that is, except for the people, who are the same, only maybe slightly worse. Then he meets Aakash, a charismatic and unpredictable young man on the make, who introduces him to the squalid underside of this sprawling city. Together they get drunk and work out, visit temples and a prostitute, and our narrator finds himself disturbingly attracted to Aakash's world. But when Aakash is arrested for murder, the two of them are suddenly swept up in a politically sensitive investigation that exposes the true corruption at the heart of this new and ruthless society. In a voice that is both cruel and tender, The Temple-goers brings to life the dazzling story of a city quietly burning with rage. 'Naipaul's praise is rare enough to be notable; and Taseer lives up to it ...... Among the sharpest and best-written fictions about the country created by the economic boom of the past decade or two. Anyone who wants to look behind the magazine headlines to grasp contemporary India, Delhi in particular, will feel amply rewarded' Independent, lead fiction review 'The story is highly readable, but Taseer evidently has greater ambitions for his novel ...... an assured and engaging debut' Sunday Times, lead fiction review 'Taseer may be the latest angry young voice to come out of India, but it's controlled elegance rather than spleen that characterises his prose. His novel is a subtle, cleverly observed comedy of manners that turns into an altogether edgier and more sinister narrative' Literary Review 'A disquieting, ironical picture of modern politics ...... The sheer chutzpah of the characters takes you with them. Vicious fun' The Spectator 'Exposes the sinister side of modern India ...... gripping ...... One to watch' Observer 'Desire, greed and murder all feature' Daily Mail 'Taseer may be the latest angry young voice to come out of India, but it's controlled elegance rather than spleen that characterises his prose ...... a subtle, cleverly observed comedy of manners that turns into an altogether edgier and more sinister narrative' Literary Review 'Has already been dubbed the Indian Brett Easton Ellis' Guardian 'A Young Writer to watch' V.S. Naipaul 'Naipaul's praise is rare enough to be notable; and Taseer lives up to it . . . Among the sharpest and best-written fictions about the country created by the economic boom of the past decade or two. Anyone who wants to look behind the magazine headlines to grasp contemporary India, Delhi in particular, will feel amply rewarded.' Independent, lead fiction review
- ISBN:
- 9780670918508
- 9780670918508
- Category:
- Contemporary fiction
- Publication Date:
- 05-03-2010
- Publisher:
- Penguin UK
- Edition:
- 1st Edition
- Pages:
- 296
- Dimensions (mm):
- 233x154x23mm
- Weight:
- 0.39kg
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