Pulitzer-winner Jhumpa Lahiri among 6 in Booker shortlist

LONDON: Indian-American writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel, “The Lowland”, was on Tuesday shortlisted for the prestigious Man Booker prize along with five other novels.
The novel is set in Kolkata and revolves around a young man’s involvement with the Naxalite movement at the cost of his family.
Lahiri’s book follows brothers Subhash and Udayan, who are close in age and inseparable as children in Kolkata of the 1960s.Yet, while the years pass and as US tanks roll into Vietnam, riots sweep across India and the Communist movement begins to take root — Udayan’sradical beliefs transform the future of those dearest to him: his pregnant wife, his brother and their parents.
“Epic in scope and intimate in its portrayal of lives undone and forged anew, ‘The Lowland’ is a deeply felt novel of family ties that entangle and fray in ways unforeseen,” said the jury. The London-born author has written four novels, including, “The Namesake”, adapted into the popular film of the same name. Her “Interpreter of Maladies” won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
The judges will announce the winner on October 15 in London. The winner will receive a prize of £50,000. Other titles shortlisted include No-Violet Bulawayo’s “We Need New Names”, Eleanor Catton’s “The Luminaries”, Jim Crace’s “Harvest”, Ruth Ozeki’s “A Tale for the Time Being” and Colm Toibin’s “The Testament of Mary”.