In “Tomb of Sand”, Geetanjali Shree - the first Hindi writer to win the International Booker prize - tells the story of an 80-year-old woman in search of her motherland and, with it, her identity. The protagonist, depressed after the loss of her husband, decides to take a road trip to Pakistan - her motherland that she left during the partition. This journey takes her on an inner exploration of her identity and boundaries. “Tomb of Sand” is a wonderful read that invites us to think about the enduring impact of historical events, the challenges of finding one’s place in a fragmented world and the boundaries that separate us, whether geographical, religious, or gender-related.

In northern India, an eighty-year-old woman slips into a deep depression at the death of her husband, then resurfaces to gain a new lease on life. Her determination to fly in the face of convention – including striking up a friendship with a hijra person – confuses her bohemian daughter, who is used to thinking of herself as the more 'modern' of the two.

To her family’s consternation, Ma insists on travelling to Pakistan, simultaneously confronting the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition, and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.

Rather than respond to tragedy with seriousness, Geetanjali Shree's playful tone and exuberant wordplay results in a book that is engaging, funny, and utterly original, at the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive impact of borders and boundaries, whether between religions, countries, or genders.

Winner of the 2022 Booker International Prize

Winner of an English PEN Award

Winner of the 2022 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation

Longlisted for the 2023 Dublin Literary Prize

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