As a holy river returns, seven lives change course in this masterpiece debut for fans of David Mitchell, Zadie Smith and Eleanor Catton 'A writer we will be talking about for years to come' NEEL MUKHERJEE Centuries ago, the holy river Saraswati flowed through what is now Punjab. Many dismiss this as myth, but when Satnam arrives in his ancestral village for his grandmother's funeral, he finds water in the dried-up well behind her house. The discovery sets in motion a contentious scheme to unearth the lost river as an act of Hindu nationalist pride. The river changes the course of Satnam's life, and those of six others. As legends and histories resurface, the distant relatives - from a Canadian eco-saboteur to a Mauritian pest exterminator to a Bollywood stunt double - are brought together in a rapidly changing India. Ambitious, moving and brimming with folklore, Saraswati is a tour de force from one of Britain's most feted young writers. 'A new talent of the kind that comes along rarely' Observer

A masterpiece debut novel from one of the UK's most exciting young writers, for fans of David Mitchell, Deepti Kapoor and Zadie Smith

About the Author
Gurnaik Johal is a writer from West London. His 2022 collection We Move won the Somerset Maugham Award and the Tata Literature Live! Prize. Its opening story won the Galley Beggar Short Story Prize. Saraswati is his debut novel.

Reviews
Praise for Gurnaik Johal * : *
Virtuosic * Guardian *
Exceptional * Financial Times *
He has a sharp eye for details, an ear for the gaps and evasions in real dialogue, and a heart for the hopes and regrets that carry us through our lives. But most of all he has the the instincts of a storyteller, and has put those instincts to great effect -- Jon McGregor
Johal has catapulted himself into the front rank -- Rahul Raina



Book Information
ISBN 9781805225812
Author Gurnaik Johal
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Serpent's Tail
Publisher Profile Books Ltd