When I started this book, I was drawn in by the prose. However, around a quarter of the way through this started to feel long. I did finish it, but it was a very slow read.

With increase in tensions with Pakistan and India, I think this is a good read to see a perspective through a fictional character.

I was surprised to learn this novel was originally published in 1988, as the topics are incredibly relevant. I really enjoyed the range of elements included, from passive acceptance to aggressive nationalism. The narrator format was interesting and I find I do enjoy books with an emotionally-attached narrator. Definitely a book worth reading.

Originally published in Hindi in 1998, several years after the Hindu nationalists’ December 1992 destruction of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, Indian novelist Geetanjali Shree’s Our City That Year has finally been published in English for American readers. With Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Modi’s recent joining of President Trump’s Truth Social platform, this seems like a timely publication.

Shree’s novel portrays the growth of Hindu nationalist sentiment by focusing largely on three intellectuals: Shruti, a Hindu writer; her husband Hanif, a Muslim university professor and scholar; and Hanif’s departmental colleague Sharad, a Hindu. Each of the three considers herself or himself an open-minded, liberal thinker. A river separates their home, the university, and a Hindu ashram from the growing troubles on the river’s other side.

While the lives of these three, along with lesser characters such as Shruti’s aging father, Hanif and Sharad’s department head, and the local head of police, go about their daily lives, an unnamed narrator commits to recording what is happening not only in these people’s daily lives but also in the increasingly violent outside world. Worried about running out of ink, the narrator frantically records their conversations, lectures, departmental debates about who will become the next department head, classroom lectures, loudspeaker announcements from the ashram, newspaper reports and editorials, and the outside world’s escalating Hindu-Muslim vandalism, beatings, bombings, and more.

Questions soon begin to arise. Is there really a separate “inside” world for the likes of Shruti, Hanif, and Sharad where they can go about their lives as usual, or is the outside destined to become the inside, the inside to become the outside? Can Shruti, Hanif, and Sharad remain a separate category of secular intellectuals as they regard themselves, or are they all just Hindus and Muslims? Was their city that year determined to divide everything and everyone? If a belief or opinion is repeated often enough, does it become the truth?

Some online background reading will help American readers better understand the historical events that inspired Shree’s novel. Kindle’s built-in dictionary also helped me translate the occasional Indian terms, but a search engine should easily do the job for readers of print editions.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperVia for an advance reader egalley of this highly recommended new English translation of Geetanjali Shree’s Our City That Year.

Amazing! Wow. This was written in 1998 and I can't believe how prescient it feels. I am so grateful Our City That Year was translated into English.

Thank you to Net Galley and HarperVia for the ARC. I enjoy reading translated fiction because of the different writing styles, but that can also be a downfall. I was excited to read this, but the writing style refused to allow me to immerse in the story. The unnamed narrator drifts randomly between events and characters, making this hard to follow and enjoy.

Geetanjali Shree's Our City That Year got the updated Daisy Rockwell translation treatment in the wake of Tomb of Sand's success and I am so glad that it did. This beautiful novel about the complicated politics of India came out in 1998 but feels as relevant and prescient as ever. A powerful story for our extreme times.

Shree's novel is a timely one, which is surprising considering it was first published in Hindi decades ago. A lot of the themes and problems that pop up in the book are still ones that India, as a society, is grappling with, if not even more forced to confront with the rise of the current government. My one qualm is that the book seemed a little too long, but that's a common thought I have with Shree's work. I enjoyed it regardless!

Love this author and tomb of sand, and this is a nice contrast to that. Will be picking up soon. Excited to see how it's received.

Thank you to HarperCollins for granting me early access to this spellbinding novel by the amazing Geetanjali Shree. It did not disappoint. As an American (Caucasian) woman who has been married to an Indian man for nearly 20 years, I've had a long-term interest in the complicated coexistence of various segments of Indian society. There are a million different stories to tell, but this one is well-worth reading.

really well-written book that felt very important to read. the themes are very applicable to all sorts of scenarios. as an Indian, this is awesome. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

I have realized that books that are over about 240 pages my brain struggles with on an electronic reader and I neeed a physical copy to be able to indulge, fully understand the story, and be able to have the full experience.

I plan to purchase this book once it comes out as I have a strong desire to finish this book when it is the right time.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book! I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

Geetanjali Shree’s latest work is a powerful exploration of a pivotal moment in India’s history. The translation by Daisy Rockwell captures the soul of the story beautifully, making it feel both timeless and urgent. The characters are vividly drawn, and the writing pulls you in, even when the subject matter is heavy. A compelling read that lingers long after you’ve finished.

Another winner from the International Booker winning author. Kudos also to the translator Daisy Rockwell.

The story tells of a seminal event in India's religious, political and social history that changed the people and the social fabric forever. Even though the book is much older, the new translation shows how a lot of this story is still relevant in contemporary India.

Geetanjali Shree does a fantastic job in writing this book, it had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed the overall feel of this. I thought the translation worked well and felt like it kept the message. I was engaged with the characters and how everything worked in this universe.