ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Kiran Desai to present new novel in Houston on Nov. 17
Desai, who won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award returns to fiction nearly twenty years later with her third novel.
-
1759953093.png)
Staff Reporter - Tue, 28, Oct 2025
- 17:00 EDT
- 37
Kiran Desai and her book The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny / Inprint
Booker Prize–winning author Kiran Desai will present her latest novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, on Nov. 17 as part of the 2025–2026 Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series in Houston.
Desai will read from and discuss her new book with Houston-based writer, editor, and educator Kartika Budhwar, followed by a book signing in the theatre lobby. The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Alley Theatre in downtown Houston.
Also Read: Booker launches £50,000 Children’s Prize for fiction
Desai, who won both the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award for The Inheritance of Loss in 2006, returns to fiction nearly 20 years later with her third novel.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny was shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize in September, with judges describing it as “philosophical, comic, earnest, emotional, and uncanny.”
Described by critics as “spellbinding” and “a grand and stirring love story,” the novel follows two young Indian writers—Sonia, an aspiring novelist returning to India from Vermont, and Sunny, a journalist in New York—whose brief encounter on a train echoes through themes of love, family, diaspora, and creativity.
Author Ann Patchett praised the book as “a spectacular literary achievement—I wanted to pack a little suitcase and stay inside this book forever,” while The New York Times called it “a transcendent triumph.”
Born in New Delhi and educated in India, the UK, and the U.S., Desai is celebrated for her explorations of postcolonial identity and the Indian diaspora. Her debut novel, Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard (1998), earned international acclaim before The Inheritance of Loss made her the youngest woman ever to win the Booker Prize.
Now in its 45th year, the Inprint Margarett Root Brown Reading Series is one of the leading literary programs in the United States. Hosted by the Houston-based nonprofit Inprint, it has featured more than 400 writers from 40 countries, including Nobel, Pulitzer, and Booker laureates. The 2025–2026 season will also showcase Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Salman Rushdie, and George Saunders.
General admission tickets are priced at $5 and are available through the Inprint website. Students and senior citizens can request free admission in advance. Brazos Bookstore will sell discounted copies of the novel on site.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login