Seahorse: A Novel

by Janice Pariat

Overview

Nem was not like his college classmates. Instead of crowding around a TV set, Nem opted for lonely walks where he could indulge his passion for photography, until the night he saw Nicholas, a young professor from London, with another male student. The affair is passionate and brief. When Nicholas returns to London, Nem must move on. He graduates and soon finds success as a critic in New Delhi’s burgeoning art world. Then comes an invitation to speak to artists in London, and the past is suddenly resurrected. As London's cosmopolitan art scene envelops Nem, he is haunted by the possibilities of a life with Nicholas. But Nicholas eludes Nem, avoiding a reunion with his old student, but leaving clues that lead to someone else: Myra, a woman Nem thought was Nicholas's sister. Brought together by their love for Nicholas, Nem and Myra embark on a surprising friendship.

Janice Pariat explores the concept of emotional memory with the inquisitive mind of a scientist and the prowess of a poet. Rich, immersive prose drives a story with international scope, one that seeks answers to the age-old mystery of what binds us to others, and how we can ever let them go.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939419552
Publisher:	The Unnamed Press
Publication date:	02/09/2016
Pages:	276
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Janice Pariat is the author of Boats on Land: A Collection of Short Stories (Random House India, 2012). She was awarded the Young Writer Award from the Sahitya Akademi (Indian National Academy of Letters) and the Crossword Book Award for Fiction in 2013. Seahorse is her first novel. She divides her time between Italy and India.

Editorial Reviews

"…an intense and well-crafted look at homophobia and human relationships." — Kirkus Reviews

"Janice Pariat’s first novel has the piercing insight and linguistic felicity of her short fiction. It is an ardent and highly accomplished meditation on art, love and sexuality." —The Sunday Guardian

"An imaginative reinterpretation of the myth of the sea god Poseidon and his young disciple Pelops, Seahorse is a coming of age story that is unafraid of plunging into deep waters. This is the first full-length novel from Janice Pariat, whose collection of short stories Boats on Land won the Crossword Book Award for Fiction in 2013. Effortless in its deconstruction of the concept of time, the nature of love and the inherent fluidity of sexuality, it’s a gentle yet utterly absorbing novel that slowly but surely draws you into its world." —The New Indian Express

"Seahorse is a confirmation of Janice Pariat’s talent. In its tracking of time and loss, it fulfills the promise of literature: that the reader while journeying through its pages is struck by a resonance, the echo of the lives of others to her own." —The Indian Express

"In Seahorse, Janice Pariat has offered us a novel that aspires to the seahorses’ magical dance—a novel that is not only about actions but about ideas; that aspires to place the quest for desire and beauty at the centre of the human experience." — Tishani Doshi, author of Everything Begins Elsewhere

"This elegant meditation on memory and desire is set in a world where love and absence go hand in hand. Read it for the luminous prose and listen for the click as character and destiny locks into place." — Jeet Thayil, author of Narcopolis

"Janice Pariat is a startlingly brilliant and compassionate writer." — Siddhartha Deb, author of The Beautiful and the Damned: Life in the New India

Praise for Janice Pariat's previous works:

“Revelatory and Original.”— Jeet Thayil

“Poignant, subtle and nuanced, a writer to watch out for.”— Manju Kapur

From the Publisher

12/01/2015
Short-listed for the Hindu Best Fiction Prize, this sweeping epic set in New Delhi and London's contemporary art scene tells of the tenuous nature of love and fleeting memories. Pariat is based in New Delhi.

Library Journal

2015-11-04
When society is intolerant of homosexuality, LGBTQ kids suffer. Nehemiah, the protagonist of Indian writer Pariat's debut novel, is sent far from his family home to attend college in Delhi after his best friend, Lenny, is found in bed with another boy and placed in a psychiatric ward. After an arduous two-day train trip, Nem is expected to buckle down, study hard, and follow the straight and narrow. He tries. But when he meets a charismatic art history professor from London named Nicholas Petrou, his resolve falters and the pair quickly become intellectually and physically entangled. Since Nem lives in a dorm, the relationship takes place on Nicholas' turf. It's no sacrifice for Nehemiah to visit Nicholas' cabin. In fact, he loves that it's in the woods and is filled with books and art. He's also fascinated by the fish tank Nicholas has installed and enjoys watching the colorful creatures and dancing sea horses that swim in its waters. It's a lovely domestic tableau, at least until Nicholas abruptly vanishes. As you'd expect, this causes Nem to experience confusion, angst, and a deep sense of mourning. What's more, it reawakens the pain of his forced separation from Lenny. Still, time passes. Nem finishes school, gets a job as an art critic at a prestigious Indian magazine, and eventually lands a fellowship in London. While there, he gets an enigmatic message from Nicholas. Despite the temptation to ignore it—after all, a decade has passed—he takes the bait and, in short order, finds himself in contact with Myra, Nicholas' stepsister. This leads to high, but unresolved, drama since the book's denouement leaves virtually everything hanging. It's a disappointing wrap-up to an intense and well-crafted look at homophobia and human relationships.

Kirkus Reviews