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About this
Book
With emotional precision and narrative subtlety, The Royal
Ghosts features characters trying to reconcile their true
desires with the forces at work in Nepali society. Against the
backdrop of the violent Maoist insurgencies that have claimed
thousands of lives, these characters struggle with their duties
to their aging parents, an oppressive caste system, and the complexities
of arranged marriage. In the end, they manage to find peace and
connection, often where they least expect it -- with the people
directly in front of them. These stories brilliantly examine
not only Kathmandu during a time of political crisis and cultural
transformation but also the effects of that city on the individual
consciousness.
"Nepali writer Upadhyay's stories (following last year's
novel The Guru of Love) are set in the urban environment
of modern-day Katmandu, where people's lives advance, or not,
in the shadow of the country's turmoil. The title story takes
place in June 2001, on the day Nepali Crown Prince Dipendra murdered
his entire family before killing himself; its focus, however,
is a rough-around-the-edges taxi driver coming to terms with
his brother's homosexuality and his own intense loneliness. In
"A Refugee," Pitamber offers to take Kabita and her
daughter into his home and family after Maoist rebels killed
her husband; his kindness backfires when he generous act alienates
him from his son, wife and even another family he was trying
to help. Other stories further illuminate the domestic side of
Nepali life: in "The Wedding Hero," a wealthy bachelor
decides to spend his money hosting a large wedding for two poor
servants; his well-intentioned meddling doesn't lead to a happy
ending for anyone, including the lower-class couple. Upadhyay's
not-so-simple stories are lucid and often luminous."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Like Willam Trevor, Samrat Upadhyay compresses into a short
story the breadth of vision and human consequence we expect of
a novel, and he does so in a prose that seems as natural as breathing.
If there were an author of the universe who bestowed on us the
tender regard that Upadhyay bestows on his struggling people,
we would be blessed indeed."
-- Scott Russell Sanders, author of A Private History of Awe
"Elegant, rich, and pleasing, the stories of the The
Royal Ghosts will haunt readers long after the book is finished.
These are tales of both the individual and the society, conveying
a measured, transcendental gaze at the nature of the world."
-- Diana Abu-Jaber, Author of The Language of Baklava
About the Author
Samrat Upadhyay is the author of Arresting God
in Kathmandu which earned him a Whiting Award, and The
Guru of Love which was a New York Times Notable Book, a San
Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year and a finalist for
the Kiriyama Prize. He Lives in Bloomington, Indiana.
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