Sunjeev Sahota – författare

From Yorkshire to Afghanistan, Ours are the Streets is a poignant and powerful story of political radicalization by Sunjeev Sahota, author of Man Booker Prize shortlisted The Year of the Runaways.When Imtiaz Raina leaves England for the first time, to bury his father on his family’s land near Lahore, he exchanges his uncertain life in Sheffield for a road that leads to the mountains of Kashmir and Afghanistan.Once back in Yorkshire, he writes through the night to his young wife Becka and baby daughter Noor, and tries to explain, in a story full of affection and yearning, what has happened to him – and why he has a devastating new sense of home.Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.'What Sahota creates is not an exploration of the psyche of a suicide bomber, but an exploration of a man.' – Yorkshire Post'What is most chilling, and most successful, is that it all seems so familiar, so close and so easy.' – Sunday Times

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.Sweeping between India and England, from childhood and the present day. Sunjeev Sahota's unforgettable novel about illegal immigrants is a story of dignity in the face of adversity. For fans of Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.'The Grapes of Wrath for the 21st century' – Washington PostThe Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance.Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in desperate search of a new life. Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar. Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the chaotic Randeep. Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town: a clever, devout woman whose cupboards are full of her husband's clothes, in case the immigration men surprise her with a call.Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.'A writer who knows how to make you stay up late at night to learn what happens next . . . a brilliant and beautiful novel' – author of Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie, Guardian

From Yorkshire to Afghanistan, Ours are the Streets is a poignant and powerful story of political radicalization by Sunjeev Sahota, author of Man Booker Prize shortlisted The Year of the Runaways.When Imtiaz Raina leaves England for the first time, to bury his father on his family’s land near Lahore, he exchanges his uncertain life in Sheffield for a road that leads to the mountains of Kashmir and Afghanistan.Once back in Yorkshire, he writes through the night to his young wife Becka and baby daughter Noor, and tries to explain, in a story full of affection and yearning, what has happened to him – and why he has a devastating new sense of home.Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.'What Sahota creates is not an exploration of the psyche of a suicide bomber, but an exploration of a man.' – Yorkshire Post'What is most chilling, and most successful, is that it all seems so familiar, so close and so easy.' – Sunday Times

Short-listed for the 2015 Man Booker PrizeThe Guardian: The Best Novels of 2015The Independent: Literary Fiction of the Year 2015From one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists and Man Booker Prize nominee Sunjeev Sahota—a sweeping, urgent contemporary epic, set against a vast geographical and historical canvas, astonishing for its richness and texture and scope, and for the utter immersiveness of its reading experience.Three young men, and one unforgettable woman, come together in a journey from India to England, where they hope to begin something new—to support their families; to build their futures; to show their worth; to escape the past. They have almost no idea what awaits them.In a dilapidated shared house in Sheffield, Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his life in Bihar. Avtar and Randeep are middle-class boys whose families are slowly sinking into financial ruin, bound together by Avtar’s secret. Randeep, in turn, has a visa wife across town, whose cupboards are full of her husband’s clothes in case the immigration agents surprise her with a visit.  She is Narinder, and her story is the most surprising of them all.  The Year of the Runaways unfolds over the course of one shattering year in which the destinies of these four characters become irreversibly entwined, a year in which they are forced to rely on one another in ways they never could have foreseen, and in which their hopes of breaking free of the past are decimated by the punishing realities of immigrant life.  A novel of extraordinary ambition and authority, about what it means and what it costs to make a new life—about the capaciousness of the human spirit, and the resurrection of tenderness and humanity in the face of unspeakable suffering.From the Hardcover edition.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.Sweeping between India and England, from childhood and the present day. Sunjeev Sahota's unforgettable novel about illegal immigrants is a story of dignity in the face of adversity. For fans of Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance.'The Grapes of Wrath for the 21st century' – Washington PostThe Year of the Runaways tells of the bold dreams and daily struggles of an unlikely family thrown together by circumstance.Thirteen young men live in a house in Sheffield, each in flight from India and in desperate search of a new life. Tarlochan, a former rickshaw driver, will say nothing about his past in Bihar. Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the chaotic Randeep. Randeep, in turn, has a visa-wife in a flat on the other side of town: a clever, devout woman whose cupboards are full of her husband's clothes, in case the immigration men surprise her with a call.Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.'A writer who knows how to make you stay up late at night to learn what happens next . . . a brilliant and beautiful novel' – author of Home Fire, Kamila Shamsie, Guardian

In 1929 young bride Mehar struggles with her family’s expectations whilst seventy years later her great-grandson discovers what her story can teach him about his own path.'A gorgeous, gripping read' Kamila Shamsie'A multi-generational masterpiece' Daily MailMehar, a young bride in rural Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. It is 1929, and she and her sisters-in-law - married to three brothers in a single ceremony - spend their days hard at work on the family farm, sequestered from contact with the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that will put more than one life at risk.Spiralling around Mehar's story is that of a young man who in 1999 flees from England to the deserted sun-scorched farm. Can a summer spent learning of love and of his family's past give him the strength for the journey home?Readers love China Room***** 'I didn't want it to end'***** 'What. A. Book.'***** 'Beautifully crafted...a story as old as time'***** 'A novel of thwarted loves'Shortlisted for the 2022 Rathbones Folio PrizeLonglisted for the 2021 Booker Prize'Amazing storytelling...gripping and very moving' BBC Radio 4, Open Book'I'm blown away by it' Tessa Hadley'Moving...fresh and nourishing' The Times

In one night, Nayan lost everything. Years later, his world is at risk again.Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals.Meanwhile the enigmatic Helen Fletcher returns to Chesterfield and Nayan finds himself growing close to her. But Helen carries secrets which connect her to Nayan in ways he doesn’t realise.The Spoiled Heart is an explosive story of how a few words or a single action – to one person careless, to another, charged – can trigger a cascade of unimaginable consequences.’One of Britain’s finest writers…page-turning’ Observer‘Withheld revelations and dark secrets...plot-packed, propulsive’ New York Times‘Gripping...irresistible...brilliant’ The Times'Utterly compelling, original and very moving' Tessa Hadley‘Moving and revelatory’ Financial Times‘Smart and sophisticatedly written’ Daily Telegraph‘Perfectly paced…gripping’ GuardianReaders are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:**‘A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current 'culture wars'**‘A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative’**‘A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions’**‘My favourite of Sahota's novels’

In one night, Nayan lost everything. Years later, his world is at risk again.Nayan has fought hard to move on, losing himself in his political work, trying to make a better world. A fresh challenge arrives with newcomer Megha, who threatens not just his career ambitions, but his ideals.Meanwhile the enigmatic Helen Fletcher returns to Chesterfield and Nayan finds himself growing close to her. But Helen carries secrets which connect her to Nayan in ways he doesn’t realise.The Spoiled Heart is an explosive story of how a few words or a single action – to one person careless, to another, charged – can trigger a cascade of unimaginable consequences.’One of Britain’s finest writers…page-turning’ Observer‘Withheld revelations and dark secrets...plot-packed, propulsive’ New York Times‘Gripping...irresistible...brilliant’ The Times'Utterly compelling, original and very moving' Tessa Hadley‘Moving and revelatory’ Financial Times‘Smart and sophisticatedly written’ Daily Telegraph‘Perfectly paced…gripping’ GuardianReaders are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:**‘A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current 'culture wars'**‘A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative’**‘A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions’**‘My favourite of Sahota's novels’

In 1929 young bride Mehar struggles with her family’s expectations whilst seventy years later her great-grandson discovers what her story can teach him about his own path.'A gorgeous, gripping read' Kamila Shamsie'A multi-generational masterpiece' Daily MailMehar, a young bride in rural Punjab, is trying to discover the identity of her new husband. It is 1929, and she and her sisters-in-law - married to three brothers in a single ceremony - spend their days hard at work on the family farm, sequestered from contact with the men. When Mehar develops a theory as to which of them is hers, a passion is ignited that will put more than one life at risk.Spiralling around Mehar's story is that of a young man who in 1999 flees from England to the deserted sun-scorched farm. Can a summer spent learning of love and of his family's past give him the strength for the journey home?Readers love China Room***** 'I didn't want it to end'***** 'What. A. Book.'***** 'Beautifully crafted...a story as old as time'***** 'A novel of thwarted loves'Shortlisted for the 2022 Rathbones Folio PrizeLonglisted for the 2021 Booker Prize'Amazing storytelling...gripping and very moving' BBC Radio 4, Open Book'I'm blown away by it' Tessa Hadley'Moving...fresh and nourishing' The Times

'Gripping… irresistible… brilliant' The Times'Perfectly judged and intimately alive' GuardianNayan Olak hasn’t risked love since his young son died.Instead he has ploughed his grief and energy into his work at the union, trying to create the world he would have wanted for his boy. Now he’s running for the leadership: a huge moment for Nayan, the culmination of everything he believes.As he grows closer to the mysterious Helen Fletcher, and to the possibility that their pasts may have been connected, much more is suddenly threatened than his chances of winning. And when Megha Sharma, a new candidate with new politics, bursts into the picture, the race of a lifetime is on.'A plot-packed, propulsive story' New York Times'Restless, inquiring, utterly topical. The Spoiled Heart may be his finest yet, with a tumultuous but perfectly sustained ending that proves both moving and revelatory' Financial Times'Executed with rare literary intelligence. . . a page-turner' The Critic Books of the Year 2024Readers are obsessed with The Spoiled Heart:**‘A deft and artful novel when it comes to speaking around the philosophical questions that define our current 'culture wars'’**‘A compelling story that looks at a number of social and cultural issues but is basically a very absorbing narrative’**‘A masterful novel which asks important topical state-of-the-nation questions’**‘My favourite of Sahota's novels’