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The Inheritance of Loss

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The Inheritance of Loss

Written by: Kiran Desai
Narrated by: Tania Rodrigues
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About this listen

National Book Critics Circle, Fiction, 2007

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2006

At the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas lives an embittered old judge who wants nothing more than to retire in peace. But this is far from easy with the arrival of his orphaned granddaughter Sai, come to live with him and his chatty cook. Biju, the cook's son, is trying to make his way in the US, flitting between a succession of grubby kitchen jobs to stay one step ahead of the immigration services.

Unbeknown to any of them, a Nepalese insurgency threatens Kalimpong, impacting Sai's blossoming romance, and causing the judge to revisit his past and his role in this grasping world of conflicting desires.

©2006 Kiran Desai (P)2007 Isis Publishing Ltd Genre Fiction Historical Literary Fiction Women's Fiction

Critic Reviews

"Kiran Desai is a terrific writer. This book richly fulfils the promise of her first." (Salman Rushdie)
"An insightful and often humorous commentary on multiculturalism and post-colonial society." (Guardian)
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performance was good. but the story lacked purpose. a lot of interwoven characters. Leaves a lot of thoughts about migration, colonisation and how different people perceive different cultures

there is story, but not driven

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The narration is extremely good. Excellent description of inner and outer lives. Brings alive the real past weaving it with fiction in such a delightful way.

Love and suffering.

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The book had zero difficulties taking me on a sublime visual journey through the beautiful mountains and valleys, roosted by human desires, dreams, and disappointments. The story is so accurate that it's heart breaking, and when the story ends, the reader is the one left wondering about the closures that the characters did or didn't get. I would recommend listening to this book for the beautiful story!

The narration is very well done, but almost all the Hindi words come with an accent which, although not unbearable, takes away some intensity of the communication itself. Apart from that, the narration perfectly complements the story, with appropriate undertones and emotional portrayal. You will enjoy it!

Excellent book; narration, not so much

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I picked this book chiefly because of its winning the Booker. As Indian English writers have quite a reputation for lyrical prose, this novel stands well in that parameter. The style is lucid yet poetic. The title I found was mesmerizing.
only issue with this audiobook is the narrator pronouncing Indian words and names very badly. Kanchenjunga, Uttar Pradesh, Buddhu - they barely sound natural. Her english accent was unacceptable to me due to my notion that a very Indian novel about Indian subject should be read in a relatable accent, in this case indian accent. Except this annoyance, this book rocks!

a beautiful story

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I found the book boring in the first half. the author kept jumping between past and present and didnt paint a very clear picture initially. also, there is very little action or event in this book, and whatever happens is limited to last 20%. there is a lot of pain and misery shown, despite whichever part of society you belong to, that makes the overall theme melancholic. basically every one has a massive ego that cannot be contained in the country they live in. though India was left tattered post the colonial rule, I feel the scenario built in the book is relevant to every third world country man trying to build a western life. but a lot of these aspects are picked up only at the flag end of the book and this makes the first half drag. I must commend the narrator, Tania. she was absolutely amazing with her voice modulation for each character. Her hindi pronunciation was very good compared to other narrators I have heard.

Story needed more action

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