Swimmer Among the Stars

Furiously inventive, beautifully crafted and remarkably assured, Swimmer Among the Stars announces the arrival of a blazing Indian talent. `[A]remarkablycraftedandimaginativedebutcollectionofstoriesthatspanspaceandtime.’NewYorkTimes `Hauntingandmysteriouslypowerful...SwimmerAmongtheStarsannouncesthearrivalofawriterwhoisgiftednotjustwithextraordinarytalentbutalsowithasubtle,originalandprobingmind.’AmitavGhosh Aninterviewwiththelastspeakerofalanguage.Achronicleofthefinalsevendaysofatownthatisabouttoberazedtothegroundbyaninvadingarmy.ThelonelyvoyageofanelephantfromKeralatoaprincess’spalaceinMorocco.Acoterieofinternationaldiplomatstrappedinnear-Earthorbit.KanishkTharoor’scollectionofdazzlingstoriesarefuriouslyinventive,beautifullycraftedandremarkablyassured. `KanishkTharoor’sdebuthasanimpressivelywidescope.Itsthirteenstoriesskipthroughcountries,continents,andcenturiesinpastandfuture...Highlyplayfulandimaginative.’FinancialTimes `[A]dazzlingfirstbookofshortstories...Anearpitch-perfectcollection.’i `Tharoor’sworkhassomethingincommonwiththefantasticalworld-buildingofwriterssuchasJorgeLuisBorges,butthereisalsoadistinctfairy-talequality,connectinghimtoamucholderstorytellingtradition.’SundayTimes 'Do read this . . . I don't think I've ever read a collection which exuberantly spans such breadths of time and space.' Mark HaddonAn interview with the last speaker of a language. A chronicle of the final seven days of a town that is about to be razed to the ground by an invading army. The lonely voyage of an elephant from Kerala to a princess's palace in Morocco. A fabled cook who flavours his food with precious stones. A coterie of international diplomats trapped in near-Earth orbit.The stories in Swimmer Among the Stars reveal an extraordinary young storyteller in Kanishk Tharoor, whose tales emerge from a tradition that includes the creators of the Arabian Nights, Italo Calvino, Jorge Luis Borges, Angela Carter and other ancient and modern masters of the fable.