The India Cultural Center and Greenwich Library will welcome breakout literary star Avni Doshi on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m., who will be interviewed online by fellow author Sharbari Ahmed of Darien.
— an announcement from the India Cultural Center and Greenwich Library
The online discussion takes place at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 14.
Doshi will discuss her stunning and unforgettable debut novel, Burnt Sugar, a love story and a story about betrayal, but not between lovers — between mother and daughter, which has been shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize for Fiction.
In Burnt Sugar, Doshi tells the story of Tara, who, in her youth, was wild. She abandoned her marriage to join an ashram, and while Tara is busy as a partner to the ashram’s spiritual leader, little Antara, her daughter, is cared for by an older devotee, Kali Mata, an American who came to the ashram after a devastating loss.
Tara also embarks on a stint as a beggar (mostly to spite her affluent parents) and spends years chasing a disheveled, homeless artist, all with young Antara in tow.
Burnt Sugar, a love story and a story about betrayal between mother and daughter, has Burnt Sugar, which has already sold rights into 21 languages. It was named a NPR Best Book of 2020.
But now Tara is forgetting things, and Antara is an adult — an artist and married —and must search for a way to make peace with a past that haunts her as she confronts the task of caring for a woman who never cared for her.
Sharp as a blade and laced with caustic wit, Burnt Sugar unpicks the slippery, choking cord of memory and myth that binds mother and daughter. Is Tara’s memory loss real? Are Antara’s memories fair? In vivid and visceral prose, Tibor Jones South Asia Prize-winning writer Avni Doshi tells a story that is at once shocking and empathetic.
Described by Vogue India as “poignant and economical,” Burnt Sugar, which has already sold rights into 21 languages — is about the love and deception shared between a mother and a daughter, the journey into shifting memories, altering identities, and the subjective nature of truth.
Avni Doshi was born in New Jersey. She received her BA in art history from Barnard College and her MA in history of art at University College, London. While working as an art writer and curator in India, Avni began writing fiction. She has been awarded the Tibor Jones South Asia Prize and a Charles Pick Fellowship.
Her debut novel, Burnt Sugar, was longlisted for the prestigious Tata Literature Live! First Book Award upon its publication in India and is currently shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize in Fiction. Avni Doshi currently lives in Dubai with her family. Burnt Sugar was also a NPR Best Book of 2020.
About Sharbari Ahmed
Contributed photo
Author, screenwriter, and Manhattanville MFA faculty member Sharbari Ahmed will interview Avni Doshi on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m.
Ms. Doshi will be interviewed by her friend and fellow author, screenwriter, playwright, and educator Sharbari Ahmed of Darien.
Ms. Ahmed’s fiction has appeared in New England Review, Gettysburg Review, Painted Bride Quarterly, Wasafiri (UK) Roanoke Review, Asian Pacific American Journal, and The Caravan (India) among others. In 2019 her first novel Dust Under Her Feet was published by Westland /Tranquebar.
Her short story collection The Ocean of Mrs. Nagai was published in 2013. She was on the writing team for the hit TV show Quantico on ABC and co-adapted the YA novel Rickshaw Girl for the screen. She’s on the MFA faculty for Manhattanville College.
If You’re Attending …
This event is free and open to all. You can register here. Registrants will receive a reminder and meeting ID in advance of the event.
About the India Cultural Center
The Greenwich-based India Cultural Center is a non-profit organization that celebrates the arts and culture of India. Its mission is to foster inclusion by educating and engaging the community in Indian culture. Programs are targeted towards both the Indian American diaspora and the community at large.
About Greenwich Library
The Greenwich Library system consists of the Main Library and its Byram Shubert and Cos Cob branches. The mission of Greenwich Library is to provide exceptional resources, programs and services that promote the joy of lifelong learning and discovery, and to offer a welcoming place for people to gather and share experiences.
With 1,800 programs and events per year, the Library seeks to serve as the cultural and intellectual crossroads of the community. Greenwich Library has a total circulation of about 1.2 million, the highest reported in Connecticut. Greenwich Library was recently named a five-star library by Library Journal for the tenth time.
Greenwich Library is located at 101 West Putnam Avenue in Greenwich. Cos Cob Library is located at 5 Sinawoy Road in Cos Cob. Byram Shubert Library is located at 21 Mead Ave. in Greenwich. More information is available online or by calling 203-622-7900.