A Life of Adventure and Delight
Published on 4. September 2018
Book
Paperback/Softback
208 pages
978-0-393-35589-5 (ISBN)
Description
Hailed as a storyteller whose fiction is "a glowing work of art" (Wall Street Journal), Akhil Sharma is possessed of a narrative voice "as hypnotic as those found in the pages of Dostoyevsky" (The Nation). In A Life of Adventure and Delight, Sharma delivers eight masterful stories that focus on Indian protagonists at home and abroad and that plunge the reader into the unpredictable workings of the human heart. A young woman in an arranged marriage awakens one day surprised to find herself in love with her husband. A retired divorce tries to become the perfect partner by reading women's magazines. A man's longstanding contempt for his cousin suddenly shifts inward when he witnesses his cousin caring for a sick woman. Tender and darkly comic, the protagonists in A Life of Adventure and Delight deceive themselves and engage in odd behaviors as they navigate how to be good, how to make meaningful relationships, and the strengths and pitfalls of self-interest. Elegantly written and emotionally immediate, the stories provide an intimate, honest assessment of human relationships between mothers and sons, sons and lovers, and husband and wives from a dazzlingly original, critically acclaimed writer.
Reviews / Votes
"Focusing exclusively on Indian characters, both in Delhi and in the New York metropolitan area, [Sharma] brings a keen cultural awareness to each of these stories.... [A Life of Adventure and Delight is] perceptive, humane, and pointed." -- New York Times Book Review "[Sharma's] stories are beautiful, deceptively simple, and potentially dangerous." -- Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sympathizer "What an exciting and original writer this is, and what a knock-out collection." -- David Sedaris, best-selling author of Naked "These stories have a psychological acuity that redeems their dark worldview." -- Kirkus Reviews "Those seeking quiet moments of revelation will find them here." -- Publishers Weekly "A melancholy and at turns tender exploration of the human psyche at its most vulnerable." -- Angel City Review "If you love short story collections, this one's for you.... Author Akhil Sharma's characters aren't perfect-they wrestle with belonging, tradition, and temptation-but they're heartbreakingly real and relatable, even at their worst." -- HelloGiggles "The stories in Akhil Sharma's A Life of Adventure and Delight sweep across the page like monsoons-filled with energy, chaos, surprise, and rapture, they ravish and transform the very nature of reading." -- Adam Johnson, National Book Award-winning author of Fortune Smiles "Readers wade into these stories as though stepping into a calm river only to be caught by an undercurrent of the most devastating kind-the demand of everyday existence. Akhil Sharma's words touch the deep experience that often remains wordless. He is truly the Chekhov of our time." -- Yiyun Li, author of Gold Boy, Emerald Girl and The Vagrants "Akhil Sharma's deceptively simple diction has a way of cutting straight to the human bone. The stories in A Life of Adventure and Delight are revelations, every one." -- Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and Everybody's FoolMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 208 mm
Width: 141 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
172 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-393-35589-5 (9780393355895)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Akhil Sharma
A Life of Adventure and Delight
E-Book
04/2025
W. W. Norton & Company
€18.18
Available for download
Person
Akhil Sharma is the author of Family Life, a New York Times Best Book of the Year and the winner of the International DUBLIN Literary
Award and the Folio Prize. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Best American Short Stories, and O. Henry Award Stories. A native of Delhi, he lives in New York City and teaches English at Rutgers University-Newark.
Award and the Folio Prize. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Best American Short Stories, and O. Henry Award Stories. A native of Delhi, he lives in New York City and teaches English at Rutgers University-Newark.