Superb, subtle, surprising stories that show, through a prism of unforgettable characters, what it means to live between two worlds: India and Canada
About the Book
A swimming instructor is determined to re-enact John Cheever’s iconic short story, ‘The Swimmer’, in the pools of Mumbai. A famous Indian chef breaks down on a New York talk show. A gangster’s wife believes a penguin at the Mumbai Zoo is the reincarnation of her lost child. An illegal immigrant in Vancouver plays a fateful game of cricket. A kindly sweets-shop owner’s hope for a new life in Canada leads to a terrible choice.
By turns quirky and clever, poignant and powerful, Anosh Irani’s stories deftly reveal the human condition in all its vitality and vulnerability. Bookending the seven tales in this collection is a gorgeous, emotionally raw ‘translation’ of the author’s singular experience of being an immigrant, ingeniously blurring the line between fiction and fact as it shuttles between two worlds-Vancouver, where he miraculously realized his seemingly impractical dream of becoming a writer; and Mumbai, the city he could never fully leave behind.
Filled with moments of great beauty and clarity, Translated from the Gibberish confirms Anosh Irani as a unique, inventive and vitally important voice in contemporary fiction.
Praise for the Book
‘Masterfully narrated and sobering vignettes that portray characters whose surroundings or upbringings have led to a stasis they strive to overcome . . . Irani’s scenarios have an intriguing, dramatic immediacy . . . Captivating.’ (Vancouver Sun)
‘Told through a series of lyrical meditations-interspersed with some sharply funny but dark moments-Irani observes how immigrants can feel both untethered and trapped at the same time.’ (Toronto Star)
‘Beautiful and visceral . . . In its style, scope, and narrative magnetism, Translated from the Gibberish is especially inventive and unforgettable.’ (Quill & Quire)
‘Anosh Irani has an eye for the absurdities of human existence and an ear for the comedy inherent in nearly everything we say.’ (BBC NewsS)
‘A gifted storyteller.’ (Booklist)
About the Author
Anosh Irani has published four critically acclaimed and award-winning novels: The Cripple and His Talismans (2004), a national bestseller; The Song of Kahunsha (2006), which was an international bestseller and shortlisted for Canada Reads and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize; Dahanu Road (2010), which was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, and The Parcel (2016), which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. His play Bombay Black won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play (2006), while his anthology The Bombay Plays: The Matka King & Bombay Black(2006) and his play Men in White were both shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. He lives in Vancouver.
Penguin | 224 pages| Paperback| Literary Fiction/Short Stories
