PositiveNew York Journal of BooksAnjum Hasan, a gifted writer who deserves wider recognition, deftly highlights the power of ideas and the peril of majoritarianism. While some may find History’s Angel a little talky, others will enjoy it more for just that reason.
RaveNew York Journal of BooksIyer’s narratives...brim with insights, showing how he’s not only a wide traveler but a deep reader and thinker ... yer’s strongest writing draws on Buddhism and, arguably, he’s most revealing when he travels in Asia.
Sara Nisha Adams
PositiveNew York Journal of Books[An] engaging story ... On the whole, though, the novel holds up well ... There’s no magical realism in this debut novel set in multicultural London, but nevertheless a kind of magic propels this love letter to books and libraries.
Sanjena Sathian
PositiveNew York Journal of BooksSathian, who writes with great assurance and verve, wields her pen like a magnifying lens to examine the foibles of immigrants who are high achievers but somewhat insular and insecure ... Sathian’s satirical take on Harvard-obsessed parents and strivers is cringingly funny, but poignant as well ... Sathian is at her best when she probes the psyche of second-generation desis like Neil and Anita ... The twisty plot in the latter half is less compelling, and some may find that the magic realism detracts from the acute social realism of an author who could be a desi Jane Austen of suburbia ... But the tightly woven novel ends satisfyingly.
Pankaj Mishra
RaveThe New York Journal of BooksBland Fanatics remains timely, addressing an issue that consumes us: race ... Mishra’s astute and engaging book should also be seen as a warning.
Jenny Bhatt
PositiveThe New York Journal of BooksA few of [Bhatt\'s] stories—mostly flash fiction or those involving an unconvincing second-person point of view—are less successful, but overall, this collection of 15 stories introduces a writer of great promise ... Bhatt’s prose, sprinkled with similes and metaphors, can be evocative, and she can sum up a presence with a nifty sentence ... powerful.
