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Field Ramble with Gurnaik Johal
Manage episode 489955254 series 3428670
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Saraswati
Published by Serpent's Tail
It’s hard to talk about Gurnaik Johal’s debut novel without using the word epic. Saraswati is transcontinental, multi-generational and led by a broad cast of characters - if you’re a fan of fiction on the scale of a book like Martin MacInnes’ In Ascension, then Saraswati is for you.
Beginning with the re-emergence of a supposedly mythical river, Saraswati follows the descendants of a lone couple Sejal and Jugaad, pursuing familial tributaries that run across borders and time. Weaving in themes of climate change, resurgent nationalism and ancient religious texts, it is a novel brimming with images that live long in the memory. Huge crowds mass at river banks, cities flood, mountains beckon and a single piece of cloth links characters around the world.
More than anything, Saraswati continually returns to the power of story telling. The stories we tell to understand ourselves, the stories we are told by those in power and the stories we leave for those that follow.
‘A surging, roaring deluge of a novel.’
Jon McGregor
‘Immersive, intimate and epic.’
Preti Taneja
‘A bold, intriguing tapestry that pulses with frenetic energy.’
Aube Rey
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