Anuradha Roy

This short, beautifully written, sometimes heartbreaking novel kept calling me back, and I'm in awe of the author's ability to create create living breathing characters and evoke Indian settings and culture such that I almost feel like I've visited the subcontinent myself. I'm not surprised that the book was long listed for the Booker Prize.

As the book opens as Nomi, a documentary filmmaker who experienced a series of personal tragedies as a child, and three older women, all longtime show more friends, are sharing a train car while traveling to Jarmuli, a temple filled town by the sea. Intense and vivid, the story takes us into Nomi's past and follows the lives of several other characters who Nomi and the three friends encounter.

Though Sleeping on Jupiter is short enough that it could be read quickly I didn't want to rush through it. The story is too rich. I'd read one section, then put the book down for a while to give myself time to absorb it. show less

The first 100 or so pages of this started out as strong as An Atlas of Impossible Longing, which I absolutely loved reading last year. I remember now why I love Anuradha Roy's writing so much - it comes off as enchanting and magical, and she says everything so eloquently and with occasional large words. I love how she interworks details from Indian history, archaeology, and culture with the main point of the story. But, unfortunately, I did not think that this book was anywhere near as show more fantastic as Roy's previous novel. The plot was very slow-paced, and if not for Roy's great writing, I would probably have been bored enough to struggle finishing the book. The storyline meandered, never truly reaching what was expected from reading the book's blurbs. I didn't feel like the story and characters were as well-developed as they could have been, and the overall plot seemed to be missing some cohesive element. I think, on the last page, I finally grasped SOME of the points Roy was trying to make with the novel. The Folded Earth is worth a read - Roy's writing is still wonderful and there are some interesting points to the book - but if you're choosing between it and An Atlas of Impossible Longing, go with the latter! show less

This book primarily follows Nomi, a young documentary filmmaker who returns to the (fictional) Indian temple town of Jarmuli to confront childhood trauma. Her narrative intersects with several other characters: three older women on a spiritual holiday, a temple guide harboring his own secrets, and a photographer tormented by his recent divorce.

Through these different perspectives, Roy examines societal issues such as violence, abuse, religious exploitation, and the vulnerabilities of women show more and children. It raises uncomfortable questions about complicity, memory, and trauma. As much as I appreciated the intent, I felt my interest fading due to the fragmented structure. Readers should be aware in advance that it contains many scenes of difficult and disturbing content. show less

Anuradha Roy (whose Wikipedia page warns from the start: "Not to be confused with Arundhati Roy", a bestselling author, both writers having a Bengali heritage) is a new author to me, and for a moment at that bookstore, I confess, I did confuse her with the other, more known novelist.

But even judging from this debut novel (and she wrote 3 more since then) Anuradha Roy struck me as quite a mature writer. I especially liked this book, as I have some intimate knowledge of Bengali culture.

The show more story starts in 1920s and goes on until after the Partition of India. An interesting feature is that it's hard to pinpoint a single protagonist until the last third of the book, which from then on is written from the first person. Also, only then one can gets a glimpse into the title of the novel as well. Another thing I liked was that the story line was NOT predictable, the characters very colorful, and their traits confirmed all that I know about Bengali culture and many things of India in general. Also, marvelous attention to detail in describing even secondary characters - they truly come to life, with all their quirks, passions, and what not... And although the whole story is permeated with melancholy, it flows lyrically and beautifully. I shall certainly seek Anuradha Roy's other novels. show less