About the Book
A truly remarkable and original novel of self-discovery, set in a country of great contrasts A twenty-six-year-old Indian cricket journalist, not unlike our author, decides to give up his job and travel to a country where he can 'escape the deadness of his life'. So he arrives in Guyana, a forgotten colonial society of raw, mesmerizing beauty. From the beautiful, decaying wooden houses in Georgetown, through coastal sugar-cane plantations, to the dark rainforest interior home to a secretive society of diamond-hunters, he is absorbed by this fantastic and complex country. But he is not just seduced by the country: he is also captivated by the feisty and dangerous Jan and together they embark on an adventure which takes them to a new country and a new life. In this dazzling and ambitious debut novel, Rahul Bhattacharya has created a story that follows the shape and rhythms of life, not art. In the manner of Don Quixote, this picaresque narrative captures the heady adventures of travel, the overheated restlessness of youth, and the paradoxes of searching for life's meaning in the escape from home.