About the Book

This volume highlights the movement from a shared past under the broad rubric of ‘Commonwealth’, to an individual assertion of separate identities. Although, of the writers included in the volume, some may have adopted Western traditions of the novel, others have moved towards their own regional/local traditions of form and style. There is an unapologetic assertion of ethnic pride, a consciousness of the ‘otherness’ in their literary production at the same time that they appeal to a larger global readership. Although a distinct pattern may not emerge out of the novels discussed, a distinct voice does emerge out of the artistic expression of the writers which is at once assertive and subdued, subtle and belligerent, artistic and propagandist, regional and cosmopolitan, subjective as also preoccupied with the universal concerns of humanity. Of interest also is the way these writers reconstruct the complexities and multiplicities of their lives through the various literary techniques they employ.

The majority of the novelists included in this volume are those whose works have attracted critical attention not merely in their own countries but also internationally. Established writers like Margaret Atwood, Nadine Gordimer, Keri Hulme and Kate Grenville figure side by side with younger upcoming writers like Manju Kapoor, Monica Ali and Chandini Lokugé.

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Contents

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About the Author / Editor

Amina Amin was on the Faculty of the Department of English, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad. Her areas of interest are Nineteenth Century American Novel and Drama, African-American and Indian Womens Writing’s. She has several research articles and published works to her credit.

Rajyashree Khushu-Lahiri is on the Faculty of English, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. Her area of specialization is American Literature and Women’s Studies. She has to her credit one book and several articles published in national and international journals.

Gita Chaudhuri teaches English at the St. Xavier’s College, Ahmedabad. She is also associated with Katha – Xavier’s Centre for Translation. Her primary interest is in translation. Currently, she is engaged in translating into English the first dalit autobiography in Gujarati.

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