Em and the Big Hoom

(Paperback)

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Description

A wildly comic novel about families, mothers and madness Meet Imelda and Augustine, or - as our young narrator calls his unusual parents - Em and the Big Hoom. Most of the time, Em smokes endless beedis and sings her way through life. She is the sun around which everyone else orbits. But as enchanting and high-spirited as she can be, when Em's bipolar disorder seizes her she becomes monstrous, sometimes with calamitous consequences for herself and others. Touching, charming and funny and beautifully written, Jerry Pinto's Em and the Big Hoom will stay with readers long after the last page.

Reviews

A rare, brilliant book, one that is wonderfully different from any other that I have read coming out of India -- Kiran Desai
I can't remember the last time I wanted to read a book so much . . . Genius * Guardian *
Powerful . . . flashes of telling detail * Sunday Times *
A profoundly moving book: I cannot remember when I last read something as touching as this -- Amitav Ghosh
Pinto's narrative is both brutal and beautiful * Business Standard Book Review *
Deeply engrossing, finely-tuned, and told with a moving and luminous clarity, this is a splendid and memorable debut * The Hindu *
A small and beautiful book . . . Pinto's writing has startling sweetness -- Asian Review of Books
Em and the Big Hoom is a joyous read that leaves you chuckling and sad, at once -- The Asian Age

Author Bio

Jerry Pinto lives and works in Mumbai. He has been a mathematics tutor, school librarian, journalist and columnist. He is now associated with MelJol, an NGO that works in the sphere of child rights. His published works include a book of poems, Asylum, and Helen- The Life and Times of an H-Bomb, which won the National Award for the Best Book on Cinema in 2007. Em and the Big Hoom is his first novel.