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At the End of the Century: The Stories of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Audiobook
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Publisher Description
Multilayered, subtle, insightful short stories from the inimitable Booker Prize–winning author
Nobody has written so powerfully of the relationship between and within India and the Western middle classes than Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. In this selection of stories, chosen by her surviving family, her ability to tenderly and humorously view the situations faced by three (sometimes interacting) cultures―European, post-Independence Indian, and American―is never more acute.
In “A Course of English Studies,” a young woman arrives at Oxford from India and struggles to adapt, not only to the sad, stoic object of her infatuation but also to a country that seems so resistant to passion and color. In the wrenching “Expiation,” the blind, unconditional love of a cloth-shop owner for his wastrel younger brother exposes the tragic beauty and foolishness of human compassion and faith. The wry and triumphant “Pagans” brings us middle-aged sisters Brigitte and Frankie in Los Angeles, who discover a youthful sexuality in the company of the languid and handsome young Indian, Shoki. This collection also includes Jhabvala’s last story, “The Judge’s Will,” which appeared in the New Yorker in 2013 after her death.
The profound inner experience of both men and women is at the center of Jhabvala’s writing: she rivals Jane Austen with her impeccable powers of observation. With an introduction by her friend, the writer Anita Desai, At the End of the Century celebrates a writer’s astonishing lifetime gift for language and leaves us with no doubt of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s unique place in modern literature.
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“A large cast of talented narrators was well chosen to give voice to this excellent collection…The narrators suit the stories they narrate, settling us in place…These tender, fierce, clear-eyed stories…are to be savored. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
— AudioFile
Quotes
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“To read Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is to regard the human heart through a magnifying glass.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine -
“What surely gives Jhabvala’s work its rare gleam: the undeceived clarity of the eternal outsider, immersed yet apart.”
— New York Times Book Review -
“Beautifully curated selection of some of her most celebrated writing…[that] feel as contemporary as great literature always does.”
— Washington Post -
“A richly enjoyable reminder of Jhabvala’s keenly observant talent.”
— Sunday Times (London) -
“She distills to their essence broad expanses of geography, personal history, and time.”
— Seattle Times -
“A richly captivating, revelatory, and important collection.”
— Booklist (starred review) -
“The Indians portrayed in such stories as ‘Expiation’ and ‘The Widow’ are unforgettable…Essential reading for anyone who enjoys fiction about India, especially when the stories come from the pen of a master.”
— Library Journal (starred review)
Awards
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A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice of the Week
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Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
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About Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1927–2013), author of several novels and short stories, worked on major motion pictures in collaboration with James Ivory and Ismail Merchant, winning the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Howards End and A Room with a View. She won the Booker Prize in 1975 for Heat and Dust.
About the Narrators
Sneha Mathan is a voice actor and audiobook narrator. Her audiobook work has received several Earphones awards, and she is a three-time Audie Award finalist. She lives in Seattle.
Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over two hundred recorded audiobooks. His narrations have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the prestigious Audie Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
Soneela Nankani is an award-winning narrator with over three hundred titles in many different genres including Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Nonfiction. She has garnered sixteen Earphones Awards, nominations for Audie and SOVAS awards, and was recently awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in Best Audiobooks lists by AudioFile magazine and the Washington Post, among others. In her spare time, she loves to read (yes, really), learn languages, try new recipes, and travel. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two mischievous daughters.
Neil Shah is an Audie-nominated and multi AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator who has recorded over 250 audiobooks spanning across almost every genre, as well as numerous long-form journalism articles. AudioFile magazine has commended him for “an absolutely mesmerizing listening experience” and as “an outstanding narrator who adds a healthy dose of personality to each of the characters.” As a classically trained actor, he has appeared off Broadway and on regional stages, as well as in film and television. He records from his home studio in Oregon’s beautiful Wine Country.
Henrietta Meire is a full-time voice-over artist and actress. In addition to narrating audiobooks, she has voiced numerous commercial and charity campaigns, as well as video game and animation characters. As an actress, she has appeared on stage, on television, and in a number of popular films.
Kate Reading, named an AudioFile Golden Voice, has recorded hundreds of audiobooks across many genres, over a thirty–year plus career and won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration. Among other awards, she has been recognized as an AudioFile Magazine Voice of the Century, Narrator of the Year, Best Voice in Science Fiction and Fantasy, and winner of an Publisher’s Weekly’s Listen-Up Award. She records at her home studio, Madison Productions, Inc., in Maryland.