ISBN: 9780140278910    Publisher: Penguin Books Year of publishing: 2016     No of Pages: 240        

Hailed as an important new voice in fiction Sanjay Nigam's debut is the story of a luckless snake charmer in an India both real and utterly magical Named "The Year's Best Fiction" by A. Magazine The Snake Charmer tells the story of Sonalal a middle-age snake charmer making a living with his been pipe and his beloved cobra Raju. Despite his great skills Sonalal's drinking and womanizing seem to have marked him for a life of insignificance. But that all changes one remarkable afternoon when he produces music so beautiful he is certain the gods must be listening. In a moment that will change his life forever Raju bites Sonalal and Sonalal bites back destroying the one creature who loves him. The Snake Charmer traces Sonalal's bumpy journey through brief celebrity profound remorse and a quest for answers to unanswerable questions of love life and art. Sparely and beautifully written this "novel of enchantments" (Oscar Hijuelos) is an unforgettable debut confirming the Washington Post 's comparison of Nigam to Arundhati Roy and Vikram Chandra. * Penguin Readers Guide Bound into Every Book "An engaging light as a feather tale . . . Sonalal is in short a marvelous creation." --Richard Bernstein The New York Times "The opening qualifies as the season's best." -- USA Today "An exceptional novel."-- The Washington Post * A selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club * A Quality Paperback New Voices Fiction Award nominee * The Utne Reader recently honored Nigam as one of the ten important writers who comprise "The New Face of Fiction"
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