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Tomb of Sand

By: Geetanjali Shree
Narrated by: Deepti Gupta
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Publisher's summary

WINNER OF THE 2022 INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE

“A triumph of literature.”—Financial Times

“Echoes of James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, Isabel Allende and Leo Tolstoy. . . . An enchanting ride.”—BookPage

“A breath of fresh air.”—Guardian

A playful, feminist, and utterly original epic set in contemporary northern India, about a family and the inimitable octogenarian matriarch at its heart.

“A tale tells itself. It can be complete, but also incomplete, the way all tales are. This particular tale has a border and women who come and go as they please. Once you’ve got women and a border, a story can write itself . . .”

Eighty-year-old Ma slips into a deep depression after the death of her husband. Despite her family’s cajoling, she refuses to leave her bed. Her responsible eldest son, Bade, and dutiful, Reebok-sporting daughter-in-law, Bahu, attend to Ma’s every need, while her favorite grandson, the cheerful and gregarious Sid, tries to lift her spirits with his guitar. But it is only after Sid’s younger brother—Serious Son, a young man pathologically incapable of laughing—brings his grandmother a sparkling golden cane covered with butterflies that things begin to change.

With a new lease on life thanks to the cane’s seemingly magical powers, Ma gets out of bed and embarks on a series of adventures that baffle even her unconventional feminist daughter, Beti. She ditches her cumbersome saris, develops a close friendship with a hijra, and sets off on a fateful journey that will turn the family’s understanding of themselves upside down.

Rich with fantastical elements, folklore, and exuberant wordplay, Geetanjali Shree’s magnificent novel explores timely and timeless topics, including Buddhism, global warming, feminism, Partition, gender binary, transcending borders, and the profound joys of life. Elegant, heartbreaking, and funny, it is a literary masterpiece that marks the American debut of an extraordinary writer.

Translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell

Author’s name pronounced: Ghee-TAHN-juh-lee Shree

©2023 Geetanjali Shree (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers
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What listeners say about Tomb of Sand

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Amazing endever

sometimes loved it, other times found it almost boring , going on and on with no direction, but eventually totally got caught in the magic of this fantastic and tragic story, in the unfolding of stories within each with its own moral or commentary on todays western turn , even in traditional India. A must read again .

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Love it!

Love love love love love love love love love love love love love love it!! It is outstanding and otherworldly! Highly recommend!

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Superb rendering of the novel

See why this book won the Booker International award. So many things that those of us in the West are unlikely to be familiar with and at the same time how many things unite us all in our humanity and inhumanity. Something old, something new, something for everyone. A very enjoyable and thought provoking read.

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Tightly woven, poetic, musical

What a page turner! When the book ended and audible acted like I still had five hours left, I was thrilled.

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Horrible narration

The narration was so whiny and screechy i could t finish. The story dragged and i never felt engaged with the plot or characters.

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