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| ABOUT NO COUNTRY |
 “A compelling tale of cultural interconnectedness” (Library Journal, starred review) that begins with two youthful friends in rural Ireland and ends with a heartrending convergence of their descendants two centuries and three continents later, NO COUNTRY by Kalyan Ray (Simon & Schuster; Hardcover; June 17, 2014; $27.00) is an endlessly satisfying read about love, hardship, betrayal, belonging, and ultimately, how a family grows and changes with every generation. A novel as colorful and well-traveled as the author himself, it is inspired by Ray’s own Indian upbringing and is written around real historical events, including the infamous “coffin ships” that brought displaced Irishmen to North America following the Great Potato Famine; British rule in India and the bloody partition of the nation following independence; New York City’s Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, and more.
NO COUNTRY begins against the background of rural Ireland in 1843, when the lives of Padraig Aherne and Brendan McCarthaigh change forever after Padraig embarks on a trip to Dublin to fight for Ireland’s independence. There, a terrible tragedy forces him on a ship unexpectedly bound for Calcutta, a move that separates him from not only Brendan, but also Bridget - the young woman he hoped to marry - and (unbeknown to him) their newborn daughter. Unable to return to Ireland, Padraig builds a life for himself in India but never forgets his roots. Meanwhile, as weeks of waiting for Padraig’s return turn into months and then years, Brendan, too, finds himself exiled from Ireland by unforeseen circumstance: the Great Potato Famine. Forced to flee or perish, he travels to North America with Maeve, Padraig’s young daughter whom Brendan has come to raise as his own. Forced to create new lives for themselves thousands of miles away from their homeland and one another, Padraig and Brendan’s respective journeys cast them as the progenitors for two separate but forever connected families. As their two family trees take root on opposite sides of the world, Ray beautifully connects the stories of their ancestors to bring this ambitious novel full-circle by divulging the long-seeded motivation behind the terrible murder in a sleepy New York town first introduced to readers in the novel’s opening pages.
What makes NO COUNTRY so compelling and believable is not only Ray’s clear talent for storytelling, but also the way he calls upon his own heritage and worldliness to give his characters such depth. Following a period of political and personal hardship, Ray’s family was uprooted from what is now Bangladesh and relocated to Calcutta, where the author spent his childhood. He went on to be educated in the U.S. and India, and has lived and taught in Ireland, Greece, Ecuador, Jamaica, and the Philippines. In addition to his writing, he also has a hand in film: he collaborated with Ann Petrie on the first documentary focused on Mother Teresa and her work, and has acted in several Indian movies alongside his wife, acclaimed Indian film director Aparna Sen. |
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| The Indo-American Arts Council is a 501 ©3 not-for-profit secular arts organization passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of artists of Indian origin in the performing arts, visual arts, literary arts and folk arts. For information please visit . |
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