We That Are Young

Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize 2018 Jivan Singh, the bastard scion of the Devraj family, returns to his childhood home after a long absence - only to witness the unexpected resignation of the ageing patriarch from the vast corporation he founded, the Devraj Company. On the same day, Sita, Devraj's youngest daughter, absconds - refusing to submit to the marriage her father wants for her. Meanwhile, Radha and Gargi, Sita's older sisters, are handed the Company… And so begins a brutal, deathly struggle for power, ranging over the luxury hotels and spas of New Delhi and Amritsar, the Palaces and slums of Napurthala, to Srinagar, Kashmir. Told in astonishing prose - a great torrent of words and imagery - We That Are Young is a modern-day King Lear that bursts with energy and fierce, beautifully measured rage. Set against the backdrop of the anti-corruption riots in 2011-2012, it provides startling insights into modern India, the clash of youth and age, the hectic pace of life in one of the world's fastest growing economies - and the ever-present spectre of death. More than that, this is a novel about the human heart. And its breaking point.