Marriage Of A Thousand Lies

(Paperback)

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A necessary and exciting addition to both the Sri Lankan-American and LGBTQ canons, SJ Sindu's debut novel Marriage of a Thousand Lies offers a moving and sharply rendered exploration of friendship, family, love, and loss. "What a gorgeous, heartbreaking novel."-Roxane Gay _x200B__x200B_ A necessary and exciting addition to both the Sri Lankan-American and LGBTQ canons, SJ Sindu's debut noveloffers a moving and sharply rendered_x200B_ exploration of friendship, family, love, and loss. Lucky and her husband, Krishna, are gay. They present an illusion of marital bliss to their conservative Sri Lankan-American families, while each dates on the side. It's not ideal, but for Lucky, it seems to be working. She goes out dancing, she drinks a bit, she makes ends meet by doing digital art on commission. But when Lucky's grandmother has a nasty fall, Lucky returns to her childhood home and unexpectedly reconnects with her former best friend and first lover, Nisha, who is preparing for her own arranged wedding with a man she's never met. As the connection between the two women is rekindled, Lucky tries to save Nisha from entering a marriage based on a lie. But does Nisha really want to be saved And after a decade's worth of lying, can Lucky break free of her own circumstances and build a new life Is she willing to walk away from all that she values about her parents and community to live in a new truth As Lucky-an outsider no matter what choices she makes-is pushed to the breaking point, Marriage of a Thousand Lies offers a vivid exploration of a life lived at a complex intersection of race, sexuality, and nationality. The result is a profoundly American debut novel shot through with humor and loss, a story of love, family, and the truths that define us all.

Reviews

Winner of the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Debut Fiction Award
An ALA Stonewall Honor Book
Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award
Independent Publisher Book AwardsSilver Medalist forLGBT+ Fiction
Longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature

Praise for Marriage of a Thousand Lies

What a gorgeous, heartbreaking novel . . . How Lucky tries to free herself from a life of lies is an incredibly compelling tale.
Roxane Gay

Aremarkable novel rich with interlocking issues both timeless and timely. SJ Sindus debut is more than impressive; its important.
Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prizewinning author ofA Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

I love Lucky, the unforgettable narrator of Marriage of a Thousand Lies. She has taken a place among my favorite misfits in literature, a young woman longing for love and tradition and celebration and family even as she defies expectations and navigates her own paths. Im especially captivated by the novels honesty and tendernessSJ Sindu is an intuitive writer with great insights into the complications of love and friendship.
Timothy Schaffert, author of The Swan Gondola

SJ Sindu has written an important novel about Sri Lankan immigrant culture. Here, the intersections of migration, sexuality and culture are explored in loving and heartbreaking detail. A book that reveals the secrets of a community caught between East and West.
Nayomi Munaweera, author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors

Entertaining.
The Toronto Star

Enthralling . . . Sindu is a skilled writer, and this is a remarkable first novel.
Los Angeles Review of Books

Sindus heart-wrenching debut novel . . . incorporates love, loss, family, rebirth and growth to tella captivating story you wont be able to put down.
Ms.Magazine

Marriage of a Thousand Liesis a rare book, written from a queer, South Asian perspective, but a welcome addition to an all-too-small canon.
Houston Press

[Sindu] has written a debut novel that is honest and movinga complex story about a Sri-Lankan family and a strong female protagonist who struggles with her own identity against a backdrop of deep traditions and community.
Tallahassee Democrat

Dazzling.
Bay Area Reporter

Sindu handles the complexities of identity beautifully.
Minnesota Public Radio

Marriage of a Thousand Liesis a fascinating work.
Paste Magazine

Sindu takes on the conflict between love of family and of oneself with clarity and laughs.
NOWMagazine

A well-written debut . . . brings to light the layers of struggles that shape our decisions on how we choose to live our lives.
BookTrib

Marriage of a Thousand Liesis a beautiful exploration of queer South Asian-American identity. With both a compelling plot and a beautifully crafted cast of characters, this novel is a must-read.
Lambda Literary

So good . . . heartbreaking in the way it portrayed the characters torn between happiness and custom.SJ Sindu does a beautiful job describing how Lucky feels about living a secret life and her fear of disappointing her parents, and the language and imagery isgorgeous.
BookRiot

[A] perceptive, subtle, and provocative first novel. Sindus characters are all believably complicated and compassionately observed, and she anchors the central tension between individuality and ties to family in concrete scenes from Luckys life. The authors quirky sense of humor and matter-of-fact take on a potentially fraught situation keep the tone of the novel deceptively light, resulting in a moving and memorable story.
Publishers Weekly

SJ Sindus fine debut [is] a timely tale with themes of immigration, free will, identity, and personal choice.
Booklist

An important intervention in the canons of both LGBTQ and South Asian literature.Marriage of a Thousand Liesis not only important: its also a beautiful book, with fresh, tidy prose, and complex, flawed characters, a novel that is at once sad and hopeful.
Autostraddle

A powerful critique of marriage, tradition and religion.
Gaysi

Marriage of a Thousand Liesis a deeply affecting work in many ways.
The Aerogram

A poignant, heart-warming love story.
Youth Ki Awaaz

Author Bio

SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora author of two literary novels, two hybrid chapbooks, and two forthcoming graphic novels. Sindu's first novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies,won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award and the second novel, Blue-Skinned Gods, is currently a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Sindu's newest work is the hybrid chapbook titled Dominant Genes. Sindu holds a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Florida State University and teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough. More at sjsindu.com or @sjsindu on Twitter/Instagram.