The 2006 Man Booker Prize winner Kiran Desai is on the longlist for this year’s Booker Prize for her new novel The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (India Hamish Hamilton). Other books in the list include Audition by Katie Kitamura, One Boat by Jonathan Buckley, The South by Tash Aw, Love Forms by Claire Adam, Endling by Maria Rewa, and Flashlight by Susan Choi, among others. This is Desai’s first book of fiction in 19 years since the publication of The Inheritance of Loss. The judges observed Desai’s writing as one that, “moves with consummate fluency between an array of modes: philosophical, comic, earnest, emotional and uncanny”.

The book will be released in India in September 2025.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny: The book explores the in-between spaces inhabited by individuals of the modern world, in search of identity, personal history, and connections with their family. Sonia is an aspiring novelist who yearns to return to India after completing her studies in Vermont. Sunny is a journalist, struggling to make ends meet in New York, and longing to escape his domineering mother and his warring clan. They find each other on a train ride, and are instantly drawn to each other. The novel explores how they navigate their way through conflicting forces and embark on a journey to find happiness and a sense of belonging. 

Pre-order at: Penguin India; penguin.co.in