We That Are Young

Author(s): Preti Taneja

Location(s): Delhi

Genre(s): Fiction

Era(s): Modern

Jivan Singh, the bastard scion of the Bapuji family, returns to his childhood home after a long absence – only to witness the unexpected resignation of the ageing Devraj Bapuji from the vast corporation he founded, Company India. On the same day, Sita, Devraj’s youngest daughter, absconds – refusing to submit to the marriage her father wants for her. Meanwhile, Radha and Gargi, Sita’s older sisters, are left to run the Company…

And so begins a brutal, deathly struggle for power, ranging over the Palaces and slums of New Delhi, the luxury resorts and spas of Amritsar and Srinagar. Told in astonishing prose – a great torrent of words and imagery – We That Are Young is a modern-day King Lear that bursts with energy and fierce, beautifully measured rage.

Set against the backdrop of the Anti-Corruption Riots in 2011-2012, it provides startling insights into life in modern India, the clash of old and new, the breakneck pace of life in one of the world’s fastest developing economies – and the ever-present spectre of death. More than that, this is a novel about the human heart. And its breaking point.

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