Third Place Books is pleased to welcome authors Oindrila Mukherjee and Chaitali Sen for a discussion of their new works of fiction at our Ravenna neighborhood store. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required in advance.
Written from the perspectives of ten different characters, Oindrila Mukherjee’s incisive debut novel The Dream Builders (Tin House Books) explores class divisions, gender roles, and stories of survival within a society that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly Americanized. It’s a story about India today, and people impacted by globalization everywhere: a tale of ambition, longing, and bitter loss that asks what it really costs to try and build a dream.
Winner of Sarabande's Mary McCarthy Prize, selected by Danielle Evans, Chaitali Sen's A New Race of Men from Heaven (Sarabande Books) is a collection of stories about characters who wander but are never truly lost.
This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!
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“Mukherjee allows full life for these characters who are often real enough to remind us of ourselves, even as they betray one another. . . . even as they betray themselves.”
—Jericho Brown, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Tradition
“Funny, moving, and often deliciously cynical.”
—Tiphanie Yanique, author of Monster in the Middle
After living in the US for years, Maneka Roy returns home to India to mourn the loss of her mother and finds herself in a new world. The booming city of Hrishipur where her father now lives is nothing like the part of the country where she grew up, and the more she sees of this new, sparkling city, the more she learns that nothing—and no one—here is as it appears. Ultimately, it will take an unexpected tragic event for Maneka and those around her to finally understand just how fragile life is in this city built on aspirations.
Written from the perspectives of ten different characters, Oindrila Mukherjee’s incisive debut novel explores class divisions, gender roles, and stories of survival within a society that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly Americanized. It’s a story about India today, and people impacted by globalization everywhere: a tale of ambition, longing, and bitter loss that asks what it really costs to try and build a dream.
Winner of the 2021 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction
“The stories in A New Race of Men from Heaven move elegantly between the ache of loneliness and the grace of connection, however fleeting.” —Danielle Evans, author of The Office of Historical Corrections
“Chaitali Sen’s A New Race of Men from Heaven are more than just stories with wonderful characters and situations: they are revelations into the human spirit and the world in which that spirit lives. Written with utmost elegance, these stories radiate with such brightness that when you put the book down, it’s hard to adjust to the light of the real world. Sen is simply a master." —Morgan Talty, author of Night of the Living Rez
A New Race of Men from Heaven is a collection of stories about characters who wander but are never truly lost. A lonely man on a business trip finds himself in the middle of a search party for a missing boy; a grieving widow leaves India to join family in the United States; a writer finds renewed success when an unknown imposter begins publishing under his identity. In these quiet yet deeply knowing stories of migration, power, and longing, A New Race of Men from Heaven offers us, above all else, stories of enduring love and hope.
Oindrila Mukherjee is an associate professor of creative writing at Grand Valley State University. She grew up in Kolkata, India, and resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Dream Builders is her debut novel. (Photo credit: Amanda Pitts)
Chaitali Sen is the author of the novel The Pathless Sky and the story collection A New Race of Men from Heaven, selected by Danielle Evans as the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction. Her work has appeared in Boulevard, Catapult, Colorado Review, Ecotone, Los Angeles Review of Books, New England Review, and many other publications. She holds an MFA from Hunter College and lives in Central Texas.
Want a signed edition of the featured book, but can't make it to the event? Order through our website or over the phone, and write your request for a signature or personalization in the comments field at checkout. Please call the hosting store if you're placing your order within 24 hours of the event.
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