Darkmotherland
Samrat Upadhyay
- **“A
- Dickensian
- sweep
- and
- a
- vast
- cast
- of
- characters,
- Upadhyay
- created
- an
- ancient
- world
- saturated
- with
- the
- spirit
- of
- our
- time
- and
- shaped
- by
- political
- ambition
- and
- dark
- vision
- .
- .
- .
- A
- grand
- novel
- indeed.”
- —Ha
- Jin,
- National
- Book
- Award–winning
- author
- of
- WaitingAn
- epic
- tale
- of
- love
- and
- political
- violence
- set
- in
- earthquake-ravaged
- Darkmotherland,
- a
- dystopian
- reimagining
- of
- Nepal,
- from
- the
- Whiting
- Award–winning
- author
- of
- Arresting
- God
- in
- Kathmandu**In
- Darkmotherland,
- Nepali
- writer
- Samrat
- Upadhyay
- has
- created
- a
- novel
- of
- infinite
- embrace—filled
- with
- lovers
- and
- widows,
- dictators
- and
- dissidents,
- paupers,
- fundamentalists,
- and
- a
- genderqueer
- power
- player
- with
- her
- eyes
- on
- the
- throne—in
- an
- earthquake-ravaged
- dystopian
- reimagining
- of
- Nepal.At
- its
- heart
- are
- two
- intertwining
- narratives:
- one
- of
- Kranti,
- a
- revolutionary’s
- daughter
- who
- marries
- into
- a
- plutocratic
- dynasty
- and
- becomes
- ensnared
- in
- the
- family’s
- politics.
- And
- then
- there
- is
- the
- tale
- of
- Darkmotherland’s
- new
- dictator
- and
- his
- mistress,
- Rozy,
- who
- undergoes
- radical
- body
- changes
- and
- grows
- into
- a
- figure
- of
- immense
- power.Darkmotherland
- is
- a
- romp
- through
- the
- vast
- space
- of
- a
- globalized
- universe
- where
- personal
- ambitions
- are
- inextricably
- tied
- to
- political
- fortunes,
- where
- individual
- identities
- are
- shaped
- by
- family
- pressures
- and
- social
- reins,
- and
- where
- the
- East
- connects
- to
- and
- collides
- with
- the
- West
- in
- brilliant
- and
- unsettling ways.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
