Yagnishsing Dawoor

António Lobo Antunes’s exhilarating novels forced Portugal to confront its darkest moments With an exacting modernist style and the courage to address fascism and colonialism head on, Lobo Antunes’s writing is a deluge of unforgiving truths in lush prose

Me on Portuguese writer António Lobo Antunes who has died at 83.

The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine review – drag fabulousness in war-torn Beirut Spanning eras of conflict and Covid in Lebanon, this irresistible queer coming-of-age tale explores what it means to be truly free

Loved and wrote about Rabih Alameddine’s new, The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (And his Mother). A very funny and irreverent spin on the trauma plot that might also just teach you how to be free

I wrote about Mohammed Hanif’s excellent new novel, Rebel English Academy.

Kiran Desai’s book of life | The Observer Twenty years in the making, Desai’s bravura, Booker-shortlisted The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is a love story, surrealist mystery, study of identity ...

I wrote about Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, “a starburst of a novel, dazzling and unforgettable; it will likely surpass the acclaim of The Inheritance of Loss, Desai’s 2006 Booker prize-winning novel of empire and globalisation”. @thebookerprizes.com @vikingbooksuk.bsky.social

No Friend to This House by Natalie Haynes review – a thrilling take on the Golden Fleece myth Medea tells her side of the story in a reimagining of the ancient Greek stories that puts women centre stage

‘An illuminating and often thrilling work of feminist reclamation that also enacts structural subversion, disrupting the familiar narrative’s linear momentum and its fixation on male heroism’ My review of Natalie Haynes’ No Friend to this House- a reimagining of the Golden Fleece myth.

Thicker than blood

'Necessary Fiction – which is narrated in a variety of voices (first, second and third person) – shows a deepening of the author’s interest in queer survival.'

Yagnishsing Dawoor: Thicker than blood

Moderation by Elaine Castillo review – a twisted look at the tech workplace Castillo’s ambitious second novel, set in the worlds of social media and VR, considers labour and storytelling in a world veering right

My reading of Elaine Castillo’s second novel, Moderation

A New New Me by Helen Oyeyemi review – a fable about self-mythology This gloriously absurd Prague-set tale, in which one woman is split into seven selves, is a wild ride

Wrote about the new Helen Oyeyemi, A New New Me: “Oyeyemi is a gleefully unapologetic trickster; whether you adore this novel or chuck it across the room may come down to how much mischief for the sake of mischief you can handle.” Gloriously absurd and fun.

Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp review – wild, absurd and wickedly funny This outrageous skewering of the modern dating landscape confronts toxic masculinity and the contradictions of female desire

Adored Sophie Kemp’s Paradise Logic, a wholly original skewering of the modern dating landscape:
“Kemp’s language is profane and outrageously camp, blending punk-infused chutzpah, feminist irony, meme-worthy disclosures and mic drops with sick, unsettling humour.” My review:

The font on the last one 🤣

Wrote about Zambia’s colonial-era anti-gay laws and Iris Mwanza’s debut, The Lions’ Den, “an angry and heartrending novel, told with verve and a deep understanding of systemic cruelty.” @foreignpolicy.com

My review of Abdulrazak Gurnah’s powerful and provocative new novel, Theft, in today’s Guardian

Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah review – love and betrayal from the Nobel laureate This is a powerful story of debt and obligation set against the tourism boom in post-colonial Tanzania

“Debt, both as a real monetary burden and a symbolic relational pact, has been a recurring feature of Gurnah’s writing…For Gurnah, the record-keeping principle underlying a ledger is also one that animates human exchange more broadly, corrupting even the most innocent of bonds”. My review of Theft.

Quarterlife by Devika Rege review – an intimate epic set in Modi’s India An astute debut novel follows the personal and political upheaval of three friends in a thinly fictionalised contemporary Mumbai

“Quarterlife is a revelation, full to the brim with muscular provocations on democracy, progress, radicalisation, majoritarianism, modernity and tradition.” My review of Devika Rege’s roaring debut.

Dealing with the Dead by Alain Mabanckou review – supernatural satire Funny, spooky and surreal, this shapeshifting novel from the Francophone author explores Congolese politics

Wrote abt the new Mabanckou.“Could Mabanckou, unwelcome in the Republic of the Congo on account of his outspoken criticism of the president, be writing here about his own exile; the untimely death of his hero an allegory of his involuntary separation from the cherished landscape of his early years?”