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The Indo-American Arts Council
in collaboration with the
Asian American Writers Workshop
presents
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Kalyan Ray's
NO COUNTRY
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Wednesday, September 10, 2014, 7-9 pm
Q&A moderated by Siddhartha Mitter
at Asian American Writers Workshop, 112West 27th Street, 6th floor, NYC
Cost of book: $27
Please rsvp: events.iaac@gmail.com |
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| ABOUT AUTHOR: |
 Kalyan Ray grew up in Calcutta after his family was uprooted from the Ganges Delta (now Bangladesh) through a combination of political upheavals, natural disasters, and poverty. Educated in India and the U.S., he has lived and taught in Ireland, Greece, Ecuador, Jamaica, and the Philippines, and currently divides his time between the U.S. and Kolkata. He is the author of Eastwords, and has translated several books of contemporary Indian poetry into English. He is married to acclaimed Indian film director and actress Aparna Sen. |
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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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| REVIEWS: |
-Library Journal, starred review
“The variegated colors, tastes and textures of Ray’s narrative, as it moves through multiple points of view, lends a powerful sense of context to both the most trivial and the most tragic of human circumstances. Ray treads the fine line between coincidence and contrivance with
bravado and finesse.” - Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“[No Country] offers a compelling answer to a primal question: where do I come from? … Readers fond of Salman Rushdie’s subcontinental epics should appreciate Ray’s combination of multigenerational saga and historical canvas.” - Publishers Weekly
“This thoughtful novel offers a panoramic view of the way personal and national destinies collide, sometimes ending in tragedy, sometimes in triumph. Historical fiction fans will find much to savor in this rich portrait of the trials and tribulations of immigrants.” - Booklist
“An unforgettable journey through lives, continents, and history, No Country leaves you deeply moved. Kalyan Ray shows both the thrill and trauma of immigration in a true and powerful way. A wonderful book.” - Lara Vapnyar, author of The Scent of Pine
“In No Country, an ambitious, fascinating and suspenseful novel that spans continents and generations, Kalyan Ray deftly draws the reader into the lives of an unusual cast of characters who inhabit worlds as diverse as 19th-century rural Ireland, colonial India, and present-day New York. Ray has painted these characters with a loving intricacy that made me truly care about their hopes, dreams, and tragic reversals of fate.”- Chitra Divakaruni, author of Oleander Girl
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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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