Em and the Big Hoom

The devastatingly original debut novel from a winner of the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction.

"Profoundly moving . . . I cannot remember when I last read something as touching as this." --Amitav Ghosh, author of The Glass Palace

First published by a small press in India, Jerry Pinto's debut novel has already taken the literary world by storm. Suffused with compassion, humor, and hard-won wisdom, Em and the Big Hoom is a modern masterpiece, and its American publication is certain to be one of the major literary events of the season.

Meet Imelda and Augustine, or--as our young narrator calls his unusual parents--Em and the Big Hoom. Most of the time, Em smokes endless beedis and sings her way through life. She is the sun around which everyone else orbits. But as enchanting and high-spirited as she can be, when Em's bipolar disorder seizes her she becomes monstrous, sometimes with calamitous consequences for herself and others. This accomplished debut is graceful and urgent, with a one-of-a-kind voice that will stay with readers long after the last page.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 06/24/2014
ISBN: 9780143124764
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 7.67h x 5.23w x 0.61d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 05/26/2014
Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2014
Booklist 07/01/2014 pg. 28