About
'A wonderful and compellingly visual novel, whose world is as completely realised as anything by Robert Graves, Amitav Ghosh or Barry Unsworth.'— William Dalrymple
'A richly painted literary novel . . . a deeply satisfying tale mixing history, cultural clashes, violence and love.'— Kirkus
Kunal Basu, the acclaimed author of The Opium Clerk, The Miniaturist, Racists and the bestseller The Japanese Wife, takes you on a fascinating journey of Portugal and China in the late 19th and early 20th century.
LISBON, 1898: philandering surgeon Antonio Maria, discovers his beloved father is dying of syphilis, scourge of both rich and poor. Determined to find a cure, Antonio sets sail for Peking to study under the renowned Dr Xu, in the hope that traditional Chinese medicine has the answer that eludes the West. But the Chinese master is evasive, and when Antonio encounters the alluringly independent Fumi, he finds the first love that will force him to question everything he knew before.
As he wrestles with his disbelief over 'irrational' Chinese views about illness, violence threatens to break out across China. The infamous Boxer rebellion separates the lovers during a siege at the Summer Palace, and Antonio must decide whether to flee or to stay on in China to solve the deep mystery of Fumi's haunted past and discover for himself the Yellow Emperor's cure.
Author
KUNAL BASU was born in Kolkata, India, and was educated in India and the United States. He is the author of three critaically acclaimed novels, The Opum Clerk, The Miniaturist and Racists, and a collection of stories, The Japanese Wife, the lead story of which has been made into an award winning film. He teaches at Oxford University and is married with one daughter.For more details visit www.kunalbasu.com.
Events
- Book Launch : Asian Age (New Delhi), 13th January, 2011. Click here (JPEG/38KB)
- Event Photos:
Bangalore Book Launch with Dr. Gopal Krishna Gandhi
Delhi Book Launch with William Dalrymple
Mumbai Book Launch with Rahul Bose
Book reading in Chandannagore with Dr. Rila Mukherjee (Director, Institut de Chandernagore)
Media
- A rich inheritance - an interview with Swati Daftuar in The Hindu
(Click here to read) - Every Human Emotion is on parade when you write about a disease - an interview with Ina Puri in The Times of India (Crest Edition)
(Click here to read) - Discovery, not nostalgia , gives me a kick - an interview with Mandira Nayar in The Week, Kochi
(Click here to read) - richly painted literary novel ... a deeply satisfying tale mixing history, cultural clashes, violence and love. – Kirkus
(Click here to read) - Basu interweaves strands of romance, medicine, and history into a fascinating cross-cultural tapestry. When he learns his beloved father is suffering from a virulent form of syphilis, Portuguese doctor Antonio Maria turns to Eastern medicine in order to find a cure. Travelling to turn-of-the-century in Xu’s becomes of science of [or?] medicine. Conjuring up an exotic time and place, Basu provides a passport into a vanished world. - Booklist
(Click here to read) - Don't Miss it. -DNA, Mumbai
(Click here to read) - An opiate of the senses. -India Today (Weekly)
(Click here to read) - Am novel of sumptouous and lyrical imagination. -Indian Express, Chennai
(Click here to read) - ...nuanced eroticism with words -The Telegraph, Kolkata
(Click here to read) - Basu's tale is swift and richly evocative, especially in it's rendering of the hermetic worlds... TimeOut, Delhi
(Click here to read) - ...what it takes to be a multi-facetad writer - A conversation with Nitika Bajpayee Spice Talk
(Click here to read) - Exotic sights, sounds and tastes, the political equations and clash of cultures of the past... Deccan Herald
(Click here to read)
Contact
For any comments and feedback on the book or to contact Kunal Basu, please write to publicity@panmacmillanindia.com.
