A Strange And Sublime Address

This is a work of literary fiction in novel form. It follows a Bengali boy during school holidays at his uncle’s home in Calcutta, where heat, thunderstorms, meals, prayer sessions, shopping, and family visits shape a life. The central themes are memory, belonging, and the quiet drama of everyday urban life. The tone is contemplative, intimate, and subtly hopeful, inviting readers who savor thoughtful, character-driven storytelling. Presented in a story-led, prose-driven approach, the book weaves a central narrative with nine intimate city sketches that illuminate life in Calcutta. The writing is languid and precise, rewarding careful reading and the savoring of small details. Now available in a superbly designed paperback edition, it is an award-winning work, recognized with prizes such as the Betty Trask Prize, the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, along with a Guardian Fiction Prize shortlist. To deepen the reading experience, the prose blends sensory cues—heat, weather, meals, rituals—with intimate family scenes and social snapshots. Readers move through the book at a steady pace, letting memory and atmosphere guide them through shared meals, prayers, and everyday errands, while lingering on the subtler shifts in mood and perspective. - Nine city-centered short stories interwoven with a central family-centered narrative - Lyrical,