Temple-Goers, The (Shortlisted For Costa 1st Novel Award 2010

Description:
This title is shorlisted for the Costa Award for First Novel 2010. A controversial No.1 bestseller in India, 'The Temple-goers' introduces us to a sensational new story-telling talent - and a shocking new side of Indian society. It tells the story of two young men from very different sides of the tracks: one cast adrift in a world of fashion parties, media moguls and designer labels, the other who reveals to him the city's hidden and squalid underbelly. But when a body is found floating in the canal and one of them is accused of the murder, some deeply unsettling truths begin to emerge, exposing their friendship and the dark and troubled heart of the city in which they live...

Review:
A gripping tangle of politics, murder, bribery and betrayal Observer A young writer to watch -- V. S. Naipaul Naipaul's praise is rare enough to be notable; and Taseer lives up to it. Among the sharpest and best-written fictions about contemporary India Independent A coolly accomplished, pulsating account of modern-day Delhi Guardian Scathingly comic, disquieting, ironical. Vicious fun Spectator Part thriller, part investigation of male friendship, part exploration of the tension between traditional values and modern liberalism in Indian society. Assured, engaging, highly readable Sunday Times A subtle, cleverly observed comedy of manners that turns into an altogether edgier and more sinister narrative Literary Review A brooding tale ... desire, greed and murder all feature Daily Mail

Prizes:
Shortlisted for Costa First Novel Award 2010.

Author Biography:
Aatish Taseer was born in Delhi in 1980. He has worked as reporter for Time Magazine and has written for the Sunday Times, Prospect and India Today. He has also written a travel memoir, Stranger to History: a Son's Journey through Islamic Lands (2009) and a highly acclaimed translation Manto: Selected Stories (2008). He lives in Delhi and London.