Beggar’s Bedlam

"This uproarious novel from Bhattacharya exemplifies the author’s penchant for freewheeling magical realism and rollicking revolutionary narratives. . . . Bhattacharya smoothly shifts between high and low registers, zagging from erudite references to Kolkata’s political history and its poets to scatological barbs, and he makes every sentence fizz with the spirit of insurrection. It’s an absolute blast." * Publishers Weekly *
“A remarkable resurrection, one that erupts full-blooded, alive with laughter, stink and rage.” -- Praise for “Harbart” * The Washington Post *
“Swift and strange, Harbart tells the story of its titular character, an orphan whose life is characterized by loss and longing: a sweeping view of the richness and the turmoil of Bengali culture, literature, and politics in the twentieth century.” -- Praise for “Harbart” * The New Yorker *
“Nimble and vivid, Bhattacharya’s slippery narrative slithers forward and sideways through time: an acute, idiosyncratic reading experience.” -- Praise for “Harbart” * Publishers Weekly *
“Each story teeters on the edge of magical realism and surrealism, and the endings leave the reader aroused as if by a peculiar dream. The characters are both charmingly familiar and completely unbelievable: Bhattacharya stretches our imagination to the point of credulity. Noises, stenches, and difficult sights intermingle to create a book that truly lives and breathes. It is a challenge, but a worthwhile one.” -- Praise for “Hawa Hawa and Other Stories” * Litro Magazine *
“Hawa Hawa provides both a window looking back to the past as well as illuminating our present. Bhattacharya’s satire navigates the gaps of time and space to speak to our present time with wisdom. While these stories are rooted in the past, they nevertheless successfully critique modernity.” -- Praise for “Hawa Hawa and Other Stories” * Chicago Review of Books *