The Thinnai

Product Description'If there was anything our neighbours envied us, it was our thinnais.'The working-class district of Kurusukuppam is not the Pondicherry of tourist brochures. Here, French soldiers, Tamil activists, Creoles and communists all live in boisterous and comical equanimity. But life in Kurusukuppam is upturned by the arrival of a curious tramp, Gilbert Thaata, a wizened Frenchman who has clearly seen hard times. Settling down on the narrator's verandah, his thinnai, Gilbert Thaata begins to earn his keep by recounting the tale of the rise and fall of his family's fortunes as the custodians of a mysterious diamond, the Stone of Sita. The fanciful story that unfolds is one that stretches across centuries and encompasses the history of France's colonial legacy in India. His entranced listeners cannot help but ask - just who is this old man and how did he fall on such misfortune? Masterfully translated from the French original by Blake Smith, Ari Gautier's The Thinnai offers a panoramic view of Pondicherry's past and the whimsical eccentricities of its present, and shines a light on the quirks of history that have come to define us. Review'Ari Gautier is among the greatest storytellers of our era, and his book opens up a world in which the symphony of cultures we discover will remain engraved in our collective memories.' -Alain Mabanckou, author ofBroken Glass and Memoirs of a Porcupine'This tour-de-force vividly evokes a Pondicherry of memorable characters, extraordinary travels, and linguistic nimbleness. On Ari Gautier's thinnai we encounter people and stories connecting Pondicherry to places across the oceans as well as to intensely local politics of race, caste, identity and belonging. French, Tamil, MGR, De Gaulle, Vietnamese snacks, Creole cuisine, all come together in a mix headier than arrack, washed down with delicious nuggets of Pondicherry's complex history. Savour Ari Gautier's witty yet melancholic prose, adroitly translated by Blake Smith, that evokes loss and recovery in equal measure. It will transform the way you see postcolonial South Asia.' -Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Infosys Prize Laureate 2017 and professor of English literature, King's College London'Since nobody lives in the world in general, its unfolding can be observed from anywhere. Rarely will this be more rewarding than during time spent in the imaginary shade of a Pondicherry thinnai, in the company of Ari Gautier's vibrant cast of scoundrels, dreamers, nobles and loafers in this sensually lush, moving and hilarious yarn from a place of many worlds.' -Thorgeir Kolshus, Head, Section for diversity studies, Oslo Metropolitan University'Never has there been a novel that treats French India from the perspective of the people who live there, making this novel a much- needed anti-colonial salve on an open wound. Gautier masterfully interweaves the lives of his characters, ranging from Franco-Tamilian soldiers to downtrodden white French elders to displaced Creole domestic servants, in order to bring out the complexities of the experiences of people who have been flattened by the historical record. Smart, illuminating, and often very funny, this is a must-read novel!' -Jessica Namakkal, author ofUnsettling Utopia: The Making and Unmaking of French IndiaAbout the AuthorBorn in Madagascar, Ari Gautier has spent many years living in both India and France. He now lives in Norway, where beside his writing he is actively involved in the artistic and cultural milieu of Oslo.