The Private Life of Mrs Sharma

(Paperback)

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Renuka Sharma is a dutiful wife, mother, and daughter-in-law holding the fort in a modest rental in Delhi while her husband tries to rack up savings in Dubai. Working as a receptionist and committed to finding a place for her family in the New Indian Dream of air-conditioned malls and high paid jobs at multi-nationals, life is going as planned until the day she strikes up a conversation with an uncommonly self-possessed stranger at a Metro station. Because while Mrs Sharma may espouse traditional values, India is changing all around her, and it wouldnt be the end of the world if she came out of her shell a little, would it With equal doses of humour and pathos, The Private Life of Mrs Sharma is a sharp-eyed examination of the clashing of tradition and modernity, from a dramatic new voice in Indian fiction.

Reviews

A startlingly accomplished first novel, a stunning debut that ventures bravely into terrain where seasoned writers fear to tread * Outlook on Overwinter *
Foremost amongst Ratikas strengths is her use of language, lyrical and at times brutal, guaranteed to shake the reader from her sense of complacency * Deccan Herald *
Ratika Kapurs debut novel is enriched by intricate characterisation, poignant writing and a protagonist who renders a voice to the contemporary Indian woman * Sunday Guardian *
An extraordinary and accomplished novel, tender, sharp and tragic ... TPLOMS is an unblinking evocation of the dreams and hopes and hurts that linger and hide in the shadows of a merciless megapolis -- Namita Gokhale
Gripping and unsettling, Kapur's novel relies on its quiet sense of menace to lead the reader to its powerful conclusion -- Mahesh Rao

Author Bio

Ratika Kapur's first novel, Overwinter, was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. Elle magazine's Indian edition included her in a Granta-inspired list of twenty writers under forty to look out for from South Asia. She lives in New Delhi with her husband and son. ratikakapur.wordpress.com