Reshma Ruia – författare

Kavi Naidu is a great poet in the tradition of Wordsworth and Shelley (well, he thinks so, anyway). Pompous, sentimental and hell-bent on finding literary fame and romantic glory, he is catapulted from his humdrum routine into the heady distractions of London.

Urged on by his mother, Kavi sets out to win the prestigious Commonwealth Poetry Prize – but arriving in London, he is beset by people who bewilder him, and over everything looms Seth, India’s most celebrated writer, Kavi’s nemesis for many years. Failing to see the pitfalls all around, he stumbles from muddle to faux pas to disaster.

Suffused with warm, sly humour and a sharp eye for human failings, Something Black in the Lentil Soup is an irreverent portrayal of three parallel cultures – British, Indian and British-Indian – and an entertaining tale of an innocent abroad.

Sensual and surprising stories that play a tantalising game of hide-and-seek with lies and truth. Chameleon-like characters slip in and out of shadows as they construct elaborate ruses and clutch at worlds that remain just out of reach. Their appetite for life is by turns bitter and sweet but never predictable. An old recipe, an outing, a robot, a key - clues to people they once were or hope to be.