has_publisher_logo

Advanced Search ISBN List
 

Add Best Comp

Add comparable title

Remove comparable title

Literary Press Group FOLD Features

more
An Extraordinary Destiny
A Novel
By (author): Shekhar Paleja
Shekhar Paleja

Imprint:

Brindle & Glass

ISBN:

9781927366592

Product Form:

Paperback

Form detail:

Trade
Paperback , Trade
English

Audience:

General Trade
Apr 11, 2017
$19.95 CAD
Active

Dimensions:

8.5in x 5.5 x 0.8 in | 1 gr

Page Count:

384 pages
Brindle & Glass Publishing
Brindle & Glass
FICTION / Literary
  • Short Description

It’s 1947 in Lahore, and the Sharma family is forced to flee their home during the violence of the Partition of India. As the train tracks measure the ever-growing distance between Varoon and his mother, who vanished during the panic to escape, the boy is thrust towards an uncertain future.

Forty years later, Varoon’s grown son, Anush, desperately tries to disentangle himself from his father’s demands, which are mired in grief and whiskey. Compounding the pressure is an unusually auspicious kundali—a Vedic birth chart—which threatens to suffocate Anush with lofty expectations. But when he meets Nasreen, he feels he may finally be experiencing the incredible fate foretold. Until his father interferes and blocks his chance at true happiness.

Threading artfully through three generations of an Indian family, An Extraordinary Destiny crafts an intricate narrative that reveals, in layers, how decades-old grief rooted in the trauma of history, and couched in familial duty and custom, threaten to sever the sacred connection between ancestors and descendants.

It’s 1947 in Lahore, and the Sharma family is forced to flee their home during the violence of the Partition of India. As the train tracks measure the ever-growing distance between Varoon and his mother, who vanished during the panic to escape, the boy is thrust towards an uncertain future.

Forty years later, Varoon’s grown son, Anush, desperately tries to disentangle himself from his father’s demands, which are mired in grief and whiskey. Compounding the pressure is an unusually auspicious kundali—a Vedic birth chart—which threatens to suffocate Anush with lofty expectations. But when he meets Nasreen, he feels he may finally be experiencing the incredible fate foretold. Until his father interferes and blocks his chance at true happiness.

Threading artfully through three generations of an Indian family, An Extraordinary Destiny crafts an intricate narrative that reveals, in layers, how decades-old grief rooted in the trauma of history, and couched in familial duty and custom, threaten to sever the sacred connection between ancestors and descendants.

Shekhar Paleja graduated from the University of Calgary with his BFA in Theatre, and has many film and theatre credits to his name. He has also published two children's books, Native Americans: A Visual Exploration and Power Up! A resident of Vancouver, An Extraordinary Destiny is his debut novel.

  • Features and reviews targeting Publishers Weekly, BookList, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, Globe and Mail, National Post, Vancouver Sun
  • Online promotion and publicity via Brindle & Glass Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and paid ads
  • Promotion on Shekhar’s website and social media: www.shakerpaleja.com, Twitter (@ShekharPaleja), Facebook (/Shekhar.Paleja)
  • Digital ARCs available



For more information contact
[email protected]

Epic . . . Shekhar Paleja's debut marks the arrival of a stunning new writer . . . The comparisons to the work of award-winning Indian-American novelist Jhumpa Lahiri are going to be inevitable and fast coming.

- Minelle Mahtani, Sense of Place on Roundhouse Radio

In a moment awake to the spectres of fascism in America and Europe, one can only be struck by the scarcity of international attention to the well-established Hindu nationalism in India. Shekhar Paleja's debut novel charts this movement's rise by examining the currency of the kundali . . . A good start for a debut novelist; a worthy read for the arc of the story.

- The Globe and Mail

An Extraordinary Destiny . . . by Shekhar Paleja establishes him as an author to look up to. His writing is authentic, his voice is strong and complex, and his characters are living beings worthy of following . . . a well-researched, entertaining and an eye-opening narration of a coming of age story that can help you relate to a culture you’d otherwise never experience.

- Ahmad Danny Ramadan, author of The Clothesline Swing

"I appreciated Paleja’s ability to tell the story and depict the characters as complex people, not just stereotypes. . . . The inconclusive ending frustrated me, but also felt fitting. The religious tensions are still present, there are always generational pressures within families, and there is no easy “happily ever after” solution for most characters. The characters in An Extraordinary Destiny were complex enough that a simple tying of up loose ends wouldn’t be sufficient. I enjoy historical fiction where I can learn (and usually Wiki-binge after to learn more) while enjoying the storytelling, and Paleja’s novel hit the spot." —Monica, Monnibo blog - Monnibo blog

of 47

Forgotten Password

Please enter your email address and click submit. An email with instructions on resetting your password will be sent to you.

Forgotten Password

An email has been sent out with instructions for resetting your password.