SOON TO BE A NETFLIX SERIES
AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * A NEW YORK TIMES and WASHINGTON POST NOTABLE BOOK
From Aravind Adiga, the bestselling, Booker Prize–winning author of The White Tiger, a dazzling new novel about two brothers in a Mumbai slum who are raised by their obsessive father to become cricket stars, and whose coming of age threatens their relationship, future, and sense of themselves.
Manjunath Kumar is fourteen and living in a slum in Mumbai. He knows he is good at cricket—if not as good as his older brother, Radha. He knows that he fears and resents his domineering and cricket-obsessed father, admires his brilliantly talented sibling, and is fascinated by curious scientific facts and the world of CSI. But there are many things, about himself and about the world, that he doesn’t know. Sometimes it even seems as though everyone has a clear idea of who Manju should be, except Manju himself. When Manju meets Radha’s great rival, a mysterious Muslim boy privileged and confident in all the ways Manju is not, everything in Manju’s world begins to change, and he is faced by decisions that will challenge his understanding of it, as well as his own self.
Filled with unforgettable characters from across India’s social strata—the old scout everyone calls Tommy Sir; Anand Mehta, the big-dreaming investor; Sofia, a wealthy, beautiful girl and the boys’ biggest fan—this book combines the best of The Art of Fielding and Slumdog Millionaire for a compulsive, moving story of adolescence and ambition, fathers, sons, and brothers. Selection Day is Adiga’s most absorbing, big-hearted novel to date, and proves why “with his gripping, amusing glimpse into the contradictions and perils of modern India, Aravind Adiga has cemented his reputation as the preeminent chronicler of his country’s messy present” (Newsweek).
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“Narrator Sartaj Garewal lends great charm to Adiga’s engaging and intimate novel. With great sensitivity, Garewal portrays two young brothers who are moving up the ranks of India’s hyper-competitive cricket world. The brothers’ opposing characters form the crux of the novel, and Garewal’s subtle characterizations of them are outshone only by his nuanced depiction of their controlling father.”
— AudioFile
“Narrator Garewal’s energy couldn’t be more rousingly infectious as he voices Adiga’s unforgettable characters…Garewal’s spirited presentation is an unflagging delight, enhancing an already breathtaking narrative with even more gusto and charm.”
— Library Journal (starred audio review)“This is a book about choice and destiny, smothering family ambition, and the pull of a young person’s nascent identity.”
— New York Times Book Review“The subtlety with which he presents the battle between India’s aspirants and its left-behind poor is exceptional.”
— Richmond Times-Dispatch“Superbly captures the intimacy between the two brothers, as they bicker, tease and protect each other…as Adiga explores themes of ambition, failure, homophobia, and threats to freedom—whether on a personal or national level—he has produced a nearly flawless novel.”
— San Francisco ChronicleBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
Aravind Adiga is the author of Selection Day, the Booker Prize-winning novel The White Tiger, and the story collection Between the Assassinations. He was born in India and attended Columbia and Oxford universities. He is a former correspondent for Time magazine, and his work has also appeared in the New Yorker, Granta, London Sunday Times, and the Financial Times, among other publications.
Sartaj Garewal is an English actor and AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. He has appeared in such films as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Infidel, and House of Anubis. He began his acting career on the stage, where he performed Shakespeare and contemporary productions at Royal Court, Royal Exchange, and Bush Theatre, among other venues.