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Praise for Atlas of Unknowns: * Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers, summer 2009 * Black Entertainment "Seven People to Watch" 'Tania James comes at you like everyone you've ever cared about, like everyone you've ever lost. Wise and hilarious her ATLAS is an astonishment of a debut, so radiant with life, with love, with good old human struggle that I had trouble detaching myself from its pages. James's prevaricating bikini-waxing husband-dodging beautiful-crazy sisters followed me into my day, into my dreams. Take this book from someone, give it to someone -- you will not go wrong. ATLAS is that damned good' Junot Diaz 'A masterful debut from a gifted writer. Tania James is a natural born storyteller, and Atlas of Unknowns is the torn-between-two-continents family saga to prove it' Nathan Englander 'A powerful and nuanced debut novel, Atlas of Unknowns draws us into the complex lives of two sisters, each facing the demons of ancient family secrets and guilty new ones that they have created for themselves. Tania James paints the dual worlds of the novel--India and America--with masterful care, choosing beautiful, shocking details, and peopling them with characters we will remember long after closing the book' Chitra Divakaruni (author of Mistress of Spices and The Palace of Illusions) 'Atlas of Unknowns is the story of two sisters, separated by two countries -- the United States and India -- but also by jealousy and secrets... [Tania James] explores the nature of immigration and also the price paid by women struggling to find their place in the world. Share this book with your mother, your sister, your friend -- they will thank you for it' Hannah Tinti 'Debut novelist Tania James maps her characters' yearnings and missteps with the skills of a seasoned cartographer. Dazzling, original, witty, and poignant, Atlas of Unknowns is one of the most beguiling first novels I've read in years' Ann Packer (author of The Dive from Clausen's Pier and Songs without Words) And here is an extra little piece, which Nathan Englander has written for Waterstones magazine: I'm supremely excited for the release of Atlas of Unknowns, a first novel by the wildly talented young author, Tania James. Sometimes you just know you're in good hands from word one. Atlas of Unknowns is a split-between-two-continents family saga, where one sister from an Indian family is sent to America on a scholarship that goes awry. It's a perceptive, carefully observed, and endearingly funny book. And James manages to move between the two worlds and the two sisters' lives with ease. She really has all the storyteller's gifts. I'm convinced James is going to be a force to be reckoned with. 'Incandescent... a skilfully nuanced examination of the immigrant experience... James writes with a silken elegance and solid assurance that will garner inevitable comparisons to Jhumpa Lahiri, accolades that are both apt and well-deserved' Booklist 'A touching debut novel with a range of tones, from the sweet to the sordid' Kirkus Reviews 'Layers of lies and secrets are exposed until the reader... glimpses the tangle of honesty and loyalties underpinning the story. James paints Kerala and immigrant New York with identical depth and ease... well-crafted plot and artful emotion' Publishers Weekly 'Once in a while, a novel comes along that makes you wonder why people don't read more fiction - why, given the right book, anyone would choose to do anything else. ATLAS OF UNKNOWNS, the dazzling, original and deeply absorbing debut by Tania James, is this rare book... almost impossible to put down... one of the most exciting debut novels since Zadie Smith's WHITE TEETH... Tania James is a fresh voice to keep listening to, who will surely deliver again on the enormous promise of this first novel' San Francisco Chronicle 'Two young sisters from Kerala pursue very different destinies. While Anju wins a prestigious scholarship to the US, only to find herself lost in a land she can't quite fathom, Linno flourishes in India. After Anju drops out of sight, the two sisters must embark on a journey towards a better understanding of sisterhood, self and the meaning of home, in Tania James' highly original first novel, which is tender at heart and bursting with comic invention' Waterstone's Books Quarterly May issue 'Tania James acutely charts the shifting sands of the siblings' relationship - supportive, rivalrous, loyal and loving - with tender compassion. Equally irresistible is her sense of place: India and America are described with an artful exactitude that reveals the strangeness and familiarity of each location. Reminiscent of Pulitzer prize-winner Jhumpa Lahiri, this delightful debut is an insightful study of leave-taking and homecoming' Daily Mail 'A vivacious domestic drama on a cross-cultural canvas that has an appealing, Austen-like attention to character and social setting' Age (Australia) 'Warm... very funny... an absolute joy to read' Australian Women's Weekly 'Delightful... The author, a young Indian-American, writes with poise, sly humor and an acuity both cultural and sensuous... [T]he characters' love for one another radiates off the pages' The New York Times Book Review 'A family story of sibling rivalry, but literally poses the question of just how worlds apart you have to get before you realise you're both from the same place. The Indian sisters in this tale have their relationship severed after one betrays the other over a scholarship to study in New York. It deals with the lengths people will go to chase the mythical American Dream, and how they redeem themselves once they realise a place is ultimately nothing more than a dot on a map. In the end, the only atlas that truly matters is the one that maps out the working of our own minds...' Asiana Magazine, Summer issue 'The beautifully observed characters are engaging and draw the reader effortlessly into their different dreams and aspirations... This is a wonderful book for mothers and daughters' Courier Mail 'Dubbed one of the most exciting debuts since Zadie Smith's White Teeth, Tania James's novel deftly explores the relationship between the Vallara sisters as they are separated physically and by the cultural divide of east and west... a refreshingly new portrait of contemporary India' The Irish Times 24/12
