The Far Field: A Novel

"This is a wonderful debut. It’s a big novel: an old-fashioned, multigenerational novel, which feels neither like a debut nor a book written by somebody so young. This is the story of a young woman from Bangalore whose mother has recently died, who goes to Kashmir (where her mother spent a lot of time) to find out more about some of the hidden aspects of her life. Through that, the author tells a huge story about generations, class, religion—and about Kashmir itself, which as you probably know has a very contested history. Coincidentally, just around the time the novel came out, Kashmir, which had something of a semi-autonomous status within the Indian union, was annexed or reclaimed (depending on your political perspective) by the central government. Kashmir has been plunged into a media and information blackout ever since, and it’s very difficult to know what is going on there. So it’s really topical, this novel. “India’s relationship to Kashmir has always been strangely eroticized” India’s relationship to Kashmir has always been strangely eroticized. Kashmir is an exquisite place, a Himalayan state with lakes, cool climates and extraordinary landscapes. According to a prevalent Indian ideal of beauty, the fair-skinned people of Kashmir are considered particularly attractive. In this novel, the young woman investigating her mother’s past uncovers an erotic history between her mother and a Kashmiri man. And through this relationship, subtly and knowingly, the author unpacks the very troubled political, military and sexual relationship between India and Kashmir—a region which is of course also divided with Pakistan."