Helium

(Paperback)

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Description

On November 1st 1984, a day after the assassination of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a nineteen-year-old student travels back from a class trip with his mentor and chemistry teacher, Professor Singh. As the group disembark at Delhi station a mob surrounds the professor, douses him in petrol and sets him alight. Years later the student, Raj, is compelled to find his professors widow, the beautiful Nelly. As the two walk through the misty mountains of Shimla, Nelly comes up against a nation in denial and Raj faces the truth about his fathers role in the terrible pogrom against the Sikhs.

Reviews

A compelling insight into the cruel and complex world of Indias recent internecine struggles A wonderfully well-woven tale that shines a light on fascinating and appalling events * Michael Palin, Observer Books of the Year *
This is a beautifully written exploration of fathers and sons Terrific * Kate Saunders, The Times *
This ambitious second novel is bold and courageous [A] disturbing, heartfelt work * Eileen Battersby, Irish Times *
A powerful meditation on historic forgetting * Financial Times *
Singhs prose is capable of moments of great power Thought-provoking * Independent on Sunday *
The influence of Primo Levi and WG Sebald is strong in this richly intertextual novel Singhs background as a scientist is apparent in the beautifully deployed scientific imagery: the past is like drops of helium that refuse to disappear * Observer *

Author Bio

Born in India, Jaspreet Singh moved to Canada in 1990. He is a novelist, essayist, short story writer and a former research scientist. He received his doctorate in chemical engineering in 1998 from McGill University, Montreal, and two years later decided to focus full time on writing. Seventeen Tomatoes, his debut story collection, won the 2004 Quebec First Book Prize. Chef, his first novel, about the damaged landscapes of Kashmir, was a 2010 Observer 'Book of the Year' and won the Canadian Georges Bugnet Prize for Fiction. He has also been a finalist for four awards including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book. His work was longlisted for DSC Prize for South Asia Literature and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Punjabi and Farsi. He lives in the Canadian Rockies. http://www.jaspreetsinghauthor.com/