#Geetanjali Shree

[litandlifequotes]

Women are stories in themselves, full of stirrings and whisperings that float on the wind, that bend with each blade of grass. The setting sun gathers fragments of tales and fashions them into glowing lanterns that hang suspended from the clouds.

Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree

[thegirlwholovessynchronicity]

Oh, tell me, what makes a character important? In the tale of a poor home, wealth is an important character, whereas it’s beauty in the lives of the ugly, for India, it is Pakistan and America that play the characters of villain and hero, respectively; the most important character in the tale of a blind man is an eye, it’s a leg for the lame, a home for the homeless, employment for the unemployed, sleep for the sleepless, and if you’ve had enough of this, look: the most important character in every person’s life is the thing that they lack.

- ‘Tomb of Sand’ by Geetanjali Shree translated from the original Hindi by Daisy Rockwell

[intellectures]

Leuchtende Prosa: Jenny Erpenbeck gewinnt International Booker Prize

Erstmals in der Geschichte des International Booker Prize gewinnt mit Jenny Erpenbeck eine deutschsprachige Autorin den renommierten Booker Prize für internationale Literatur.

Erstmals in der Geschichte des International Booker Prize gewinnt eine deutschsprachige Autorin den renommierten Booker Prize für internationale Literatur. Die Jury unter dem Vorsitz der kanadischen Schriftstellerin Eleanor Wachtel zeichnet die englische Übersetzung von Erpenbecks letztem Roman »Kairos« aus. Die Hälfte des mit 50.000 Euro dotierten Preises geht an den Übersetzer Michael…

[waywordsstudio]

3 Word Review: “Tomb of Sand” by Geetanjali Shree (Daisy Rockwell, trans.) -

Magnificent and massive, Shree's "simple" story is more an exploration on gender, aging, cultural mores, history and politics, feminism, and probably a thousand other topics. Truly a slow-paced page-turner!

[hoerbahnblog]

"Franz Kafka, der große Unvollendete" - ein Beitrag Dieter Lamping - Literaturkritik.de

  “Franz Kafka, der große Unvollendete” – ein Beitrag Dieter Lamping – Literaturkritik.de Hundert Jahre nach seinem Tod Hördauer 09 Minuten https://literaturradiohoerbahn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Literaturkritik.de-Kafka-Unvollendete-upload.mp3 Franz Kafka ist ein moderner Klassiker und das auch im klassischen, von Horaz definierten Sinn. Hundert Jahre nach seinem Tod gilt er als einer…

[pop-goes-the-weasel]

And Banu Mushtaq creates history after being the 2nd Indian woman to win the International Booker Prize in 3 years.

Just goes on to show how far a little boost in translations can go

[supernova3space]

Alright we're at a point in Triple Dead Combo where I can FINALLY rant about some things I've been obsessing over.

It's more about the writing style really, lol.

First up, Patroclus. I think I went a bit overboard with him describing his surroundings (my boy loves his garden, alright?). I actually wrote his over-descriptive self when I was feeling completely un-motivated (is that a word?). It felt easier to describe the surroundings than his feelings. And that's part of his character too. He tends to look outside rather than within. There are parts of his writing that are mildly influenced by God of Small Things and other books I've read.

Achilles: The whole italicised thought process stuff in between his actions is actually related to how I think, how my thoughts wander or make up really random stuff in the middle of serious things. Writing Achilles is very personal to me. A lot of the things he's done, I've done or thought of doing as well. A lot of the emotions he feels or projects are based off of my experiences. I just love writing him.

Ajax: HE'S MY DARLING. His writing style is based off Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree. I feel it's more apt for him, considering his past. His thoughts flow freely and without inhibition. He possesses an almost childlike innocence and the emotions he feels are pure and without hindrance. He has no prejudice. To write him, I go into a completely different headspace and just start typing everything that comes to my mind, all the nonsense, all the deep thoughts, everything. Just pour everything I have into it.

Briseis: She is personally the hardest for me to write. I want her to be eloquent. She's a smart person and she knows it and utilises it. She also has this classic teenager overconfidence and ego like, "I know better than all you old people" kind of thing. Maybe I've exaggerated it in writing a bit but it all eventually plays out well (I think). Her writing style is influenced by the Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh. I like how detailed and eloquent he's written the characters and tried to aim for something similar.

Ajax and Briseis' writing styles don't follow what is usually or currently considered as good writing, with many things that I've seen people here frown about on the internet like the "show, don't tell", other things. Heck, Ajax doesn't even follow proper punctuation. But in the end, all the so-called rules that we see in tags and Pinterest and other sites aren't really rules. They're guidelines. You're not going to die if you don't follow them. Your writing isn't going to crash and burn if you don't write in present tense or first person. It's your words, your emotions, your views and finally, your story. You decide what happens to it. The guidelines are there to hold your hand, not to be your crutch. And in the end, it's what makes it unique. And it truly becomes your story.

[hephaestiions]

hi geets, been loving your recs recently, the way you write them is really unique! do you have any book or author recommendations? would love to know what you read outside of fandom too!

anon, this is so kind, but i'm a grad student writing a dissertation on shakespeare & taking electives on victorian lit so the answer to what i've been reading outside of fandom is Everything Ever Published on Shakespeare on JSTOR and an unexpected amount of darwin's notes on worms. but—

firstly, what are you looking for, hop in my dms, i love chatting lit & i can do recommendations for stuff you might like that don't make it into my favourites, secondly, to go off this ask, if you've liked my recs, heavy on considering style & affect, then some reads i've enjoyed in the last few years—

books: meg mason's sorrow & bliss, i got a fucking tattoo for it, jesus; tamsyn muir's locked tomb series is redefining fantasy, cli-fi & the concept of genre; graeme mcrae burnett's case study was brilliant on madness & sanity; geetanjali shree's tomb of sand is a tome that's worth every page; loved olivia laing's lonely city, great conversation on loneliness & art; jack lowery's it was vulgar & it was beautiful is the only non-fiction book that succeeded in making me sob my eyes out; i loved lucy holland's sistersong but i read it ages ago so i don't know if it would pass muster now; i don't remember much of susanna clarke's piranesi but i do remember being twisted up in knots over it

authors: carmen maria machado, i've read her body and other parties & in the dream house, but i'm planning to hunt down all her essays sometime soon & read everything, she's stylistically aspirational and her conceptual knack has me on my knees; caleb azumah nelson for glorious prose; baldwin, obviously; wilde, obviously; i'm not including poets bc that would require a separate list, but richie hoffman's poetry is legitimately startling stuff & both his collections are Hard recommendations; i would follow andrea long chu absolutely anywhere, that provocative style is queer theory in itself; shirley jackson doesn't start out wowing you but by the time you finish, she gets under your skin; maggie o'farrell can be a hit or miss, but i do love her experiments with historical fiction; i like kamila shamsie for filler reads, she's a little too emotionally unsubtle, but makes for a good few hours; gillian flynn for pacing & dirty complexity; i need to be in a Very Specific Mood for ishiguro, but when i am, he fucking bangs

i read a lot for school & my job, and my relationship to literature is that i can't always recommend everything i find Interesting or fascinating, but i did my best with this list, hope you find something to love! also a lot of my fiction & non-fiction reading is very specific to india & i would have a lot more to say if you were interested in that, but much of it wouldn't connect without context

[nutcasewithaknife]

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

Thank you @bbcphile @deepbluewithyellow @kingsandbastardz @potahun @seventh-fantasy @redemption-revenge and @heyyo-heyyo for tagging me! Sorry for y'all waiting for days, the procrastination demons got to me ;-;

3 ships you like: Oh dear. How do I pick only three!! Okay, here are some that have been on my mind the most these past few weeks.

Liansanjiao from Mysterious Lotus Casebook. Kinda obvious but I adore every side and the whole of this triangle.

Moshang from SVSSS. Ice Demon Lord and his pathetic hamster man. God and his most beloved blorbo. Fucking clowns. They have the range.

Chengqing from The Untamed !!! They are both so very alike and understand each other better than anyone else possibly could. They could have chosen each other, but never begrudge the other for not doing so either. I'm obsessed with how doomed they are in canon and how perfect they would've been if they'd ever gotten a chance.

First ship ever: Solangelo! I was a gay teen and this was my first gay ship and I went insane about them for a solid year.

Last song you heard: 天下 by Zhang Jie!! Been slightly obsessed with it since I heard it being performed at the MLC concert.

Favorite childhood book(s): Oh, there are so many. The first Percy Jackson series my beloved. The Ajaya dulogy, which is a retelling of the epic Mahabharata from the perspective of the Kauravas (conventionally the bad guys) and rewired my entire brain. ANNE OF GREEN GABLES!! Also was in love with the James Herriot books so much.

Currently reading: Finishing my Good Omens re-read! I also started Geetanjali Shree's रेत समाधि (Tomb of Sand), reading the original Hindi and the English Translation simultaneously! (Kind of an experiment. It has very short chapters, so I read each in Hindi and then in English before moving on to the next.)

Currently watching:

Dead Friend Forever - Thai slasher/murder mystery/psychological thriller/BL (airing weekly, one episode left!)

House MD - Medical Malpractice Georg my beloved (rewatching after a long, long time. Save me unhinged autistic man. save me.)

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna, Season 2 - JAPANESE LESBIANS FALLING IN LOVE OVER FOOD!!! I AM THRIVING

Currently consuming: Tea :)

Currently craving: The inspiration to write something absolutely devastating or utterly silly. Also a donut.

Tagging @fangdoubing @mx-myth @difeisheng @linacies @toppingjeffsatur @t4tadrienette @tejoxys @salamander89 @wuxia-vanlifer (no pressure ofc) and really anyone who wants to give it a go! Especially if you've spotted me lurking in your notes!!

[iirulancorrino]

2 & 22 for the end of year book meme!

2. Did you reread anything? And what?

I never feel like I've reread a lot but when I look at my list I've done a good amount. This year along with a handful of poetry books I reread Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking and Blue Nights, Trilby by George du Maurier, The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers, The Undying by Anne Boyer, An Artist of the Floating World and A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo thee goat Ishiguro, Eileen by Ottessa Moshfesh after watching the movie, The Encyclopedia of the Dead by Danilo Kiš and Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic.

22. What's the longest book you read?

The longest was Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, which won last year's International Booker and clocks in at 739 pages. It has a lot of very short chapters though and is a pretty quick read, so that feels a little like stolen valor to brag about.

[sickshe]

That's why mutiny is more fun than harmony, salaciousness trounces salubriousness; desecration beats devotion, destruction wins over construction, kerfuffle over unruffled, panic over picnic, cruel over cool. Thus, as in Tolstoy's story, the wife tires of her nice calm doctor husband and runs after her hedonistic good-for-nothing lover. Sometimes people embrace their own ruin. They abandon dependability and go all in for whatever sets their pulse racing.

- Tomb of Sands

By Geetanjali Shree

[elysiumaze]

Farewell, now you will no longer be you, nor I, I. As if to say, This ebbing night will rise now in such a day that will be new.

Geetanjali Shree in, Tomb of Sand.

[intellectures]

Jenny Erpenbeck für International Booker Prize nominiert

Jenny Erpenbeck hat es mit ihrem Übersetzer Michael Hofmann auf die Shortlist des International Booker Prize geschafft. Die Berliner Autorin ist in der englischsprachigen Welt sehr erfolgreich, manche sehen in ihr bereits die kommende Nobelpreisträgerin.

Die Autorin Jenny Erpenbeck hat es mit ihrem englischen Übersetzer Michael Hofmann auf die Shortlist für den International Booker Prize geschafft. Die Berlinerin ist in der englischsprachigen Welt äußerst erfolgreich, manche sehen in ihr bereits eine kommende Nobelpreisträgerin. Mit dem renommierten Preis wird der beste Roman aus dem nicht englischsprachigen Ausland ausgezeichnet. Continue…

[globalindianpublication]

In a landmark achievement that has sent ripples through the literary world, Banu Mushtaq, an Indian writer, lawyer, and women’s rights activist, has become the first Kannada author to win the prestigious International Booker Prize in 2025. Her short story collection, Heart Lamp, translated into English by Deepa Bhasthi, not only marks the first Kannada work to receive this honor but also the first short story collection ever to win the prize.

Breaking New Ground for Kannada and Indian Literature:

Heart Lamp is a powerful anthology comprising twelve stories written over more than thirty years (1990–2023). These narratives focus on the lives of Muslim women in southern India, portraying their resilience amid patriarchal oppression, religious conservatism, and social injustice. Mushtaq’s stories give voice to women often marginalized in mainstream literature, highlighting their struggles, hopes, and quiet acts of resistance.

The International Booker Prize judges praised the collection as “something genuinely new for English readers,” emphasizing the radical and nuanced translation by Deepa Bhasthi that preserves the cultural and linguistic essence of the original Kannada text. This win is a milestone not only for Mushtaq but also for Kannada, a language spoken by approximately 65 million people, bringing its rich literary tradition to a global audience for the first time.

The Power of Collaboration: Author and Translator:

Deepa Bhasthi’s role as the translator was pivotal. She is the first Indian translator to win the International Booker Prize, sharing the £50,000 prize equally with Mushtaq. Bhasthi meticulously curated the stories from Mushtaq’s extensive body of work and employed a translation style she describes as “translating with an accent,” which carefully retains the cultural texture and voice of the original stories. Her deep immersion into the cultural context, including engaging with Urdu music and Pakistani television, helped her authentically convey the lived experiences of the characters.

Banu Mushtaq: A Life of Activism and Storytelling:

At 77, Mushtaq’s multifaceted identity as a lawyer, activist, and writer deeply informs her literary work. Her stories are inspired by the women who sought her legal help, reflecting their pain, suffering, and resilience. She has said, “My stories are about women – how religion, society, and politics demand unquestioning obedience from them, and in doing so, inflict inhumane cruelty upon them, turning them into mere subordinates.” This personal connection lends her narratives profound emotional depth and authenticity.

Mushtaq’s win follows that of Geetanjali Shree, the Hindi author who won the International Booker Prize in 2022, signaling a growing recognition of Indian literature in translation on the world stage.

Why This Win Matters:

This historic victory is a breakthrough for Kannada literature and regional Indian languages, often overshadowed by works in English or Hindi. It highlights the importance of translation in amplifying diverse voices and stories from India’s linguistic mosaic. Heart Lamp challenges Western stereotypes about Muslim women and offers a fresh, complex portrayal of their lives, enriching global literary discourse.

Moreover, the award underscores the evolving dynamics of literary translation, where translators like Bhasthi are gaining recognition as co-creators, shaping how stories cross cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Banu Mushtaq’s International Booker Prize win for Heart Lamp is a momentous occasion that celebrates the power of storytelling rooted in lived experience and cultural specificity. It elevates Kannada literature to an international platform and champions the voices of marginalized women through literature. This achievement not only honors Mushtaq’s literary brilliance but also opens new horizons for Indian regional languages and their translation into global literary consciousness. Click here to explore more Global Indian stories that inspire.

[waywordsstudio]

TBR Pile: February 2024: A few for this next month!

[hoerbahnblog]

"Mai" von Geetanjali Shree - Rezension von Miriam Seidler - Literaturkritik.de

  Emanzipation auf Indisch Der bereits vor 30 Jahren geschriebene Generationenroman „Mai“ der indischen Autorin Geetanjali Shree zeigt den schwierigen Umgang mit dem kolonialen Erbe Hördauer 14 Minuten https://literaturradiohoerbahn.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/literaturkritik-de-Mai-indisch-Shree-upload.mp3 Das Verhältnis der Generationen zueinander ist meist kein einfaches. Vor besondere…