Burnt Shadows, the latest novel by Kamila Shamsie '94, has been nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction. The Orange Prize is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman in the English language. It was established in 1996 to celebrate and promote fiction by women throughout the world to the widest range of readers possible.
Any woman writing in English, whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter, is eligible. The winner will receive £30,000 and a limited edition bronze known as a 'Bessie.' Previous winners include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Zadie Smith and Lionel Shriver.
A review of Burnt Shadows in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian noted, " "The final section's title, 'The Speed Necessary to Replace Loss,' is taken from The English Patient, a guiding spirit, though this novel begins where Michael Ondaatje's ends, with a mushroom cloud over Asia. Anita Desai's influence is also palpable, in a pre-partition Old Delhi steeped in Urdu poetry. Yet Shamsie's voice is clear and compelling, with a welcome spareness, free of the sometimes cloying archness of earlier books."
Shamsie's novel will be released in the U.S. in paperback on April 28, according to Amazon.com.
Any woman writing in English, whatever her nationality, country of residence, age or subject matter, is eligible. The winner will receive £30,000 and a limited edition bronze known as a 'Bessie.' Previous winners include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Zadie Smith and Lionel Shriver.
A review of Burnt Shadows in the U.K. newspaper The Guardian noted, " "The final section's title, 'The Speed Necessary to Replace Loss,' is taken from The English Patient, a guiding spirit, though this novel begins where Michael Ondaatje's ends, with a mushroom cloud over Asia. Anita Desai's influence is also palpable, in a pre-partition Old Delhi steeped in Urdu poetry. Yet Shamsie's voice is clear and compelling, with a welcome spareness, free of the sometimes cloying archness of earlier books."
Shamsie's novel will be released in the U.S. in paperback on April 28, according to Amazon.com.
