The English problem A novel

Kamlani, a distinguished editor whose authors include Saul Bellow, presents her debut novel, an assured work of historical fiction. Eighteen-year-old Shiv Advani, leaving his wife of three months, arrives on English shores in 1931 to become a barrister and follow the path personally laid out for him by Mahatma Gandhi to help overthrow British colonial rule in India. Shiv finds London both charming and repellent. While never quite accepted due to his ethnicity, he nonetheless finds excitement in the art and culture on offer in the city. Shiv befriends many literary and artistic luminaries of the modernist era, such as Virginia and Leonard Woolf and the Bloomsbury group, E. M. Forster, and Picasso. Along the way, he finds out things about himself he struggles to comprehend. As well as enacting Gandhi's plans and navigating the looming shadow of war across Europe, he must forge his own identity while fighting for an independent India. Shiv, an engaging, torn,and complicated figure, centers Kamlani's gripping and revealing account of London's creative circle, the crimes of colonialism, and the slow march to India's independence.

Former Viking Penguin editor Kamlani debuts with an insightful chronicle of a young Indian man's turbulent and transformative years in Great Britain. In 1931, Mahatma Gandhi sees a future leader of the independence movement in Shiv Advani and sponsors the 18-year-old's London education. While studying at the Inns of Court, Shiv faces racial prejudice during a debate with a barrister, who calls him a "heathen" when he dares to question the precedent of English law. He then does his best to assimilate, even after discovering his sexuality with aristocratic Lucien Calthorpe, who breaks off their affair when Shiv refuses to be more public about their relationship. By 1934, having become a barrister, he finds love with the rebellious Julia Chesley, who helps Shiv start a magazine championing Indian independence. In 1941, Shiv survives an assassination attempt while delivering a speech in Glasgow, forcing him to return to India and the parents who feared he abandoned them. Kamlani's portrayal of Shiv's tribulations and his compromises makes for a dynamic character portrait as well as a nuanced depiction of India's struggles against British rule. It's a triumph. Agent: Marly Rusoff, Marly Rusoff Literary. (Jan.)

Is it a curse or a blessing to live though the proverbial "interesting times?" Upon meeting Mahatma Gandhi--a guest in his family's home--for the first time at the age of 10, Shiv Advani tells the legendary Indian statesman that he wishes to be just like him when he gets older. Gandhi encourages him, but reminds him it will require both hard work and the relinquishment of all desire. Shiv believes, naively, he can follow the path set out for him, but the lures of personal contentment and satisfaction tempt him all the way through Kamlani's examination of the tumultuous years before India's independence from British rule. Sent to study law in London as an 18-year-old at Gandhi's behest, Shiv has a goal of becoming proficient in British law and returning to India to advance the independence movement through non-violent means. Over his years of legal education, training, and early practice in England, Shiv becomes more aware of the costs of self-denial and of the nuances--sometimes cruel--of British culture. Shiv's growing awareness of his own sexuality and his place within a culture which often treats him with disdain takes place against the backdrop of slow-moving political and cultural transformations in both Britain and India and the advancing threat of World War II. Inspired by her uncle's experiences, Kamlani's story of one man's odyssey of discovery contains extensive historical context. Replete with lyrical imagery of rivers, the saga confronts issues of racism, class disparities, parenthood, and sexual acceptance. A tour de force moment of period-appropriate cultural dissection occurs when Shiv's British lover attempts to provide a crash course in how to be "one of us." Kamlani's ambitious debut packs an important dose of relevant history into a very human story. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.