MANUSCRIPT AVAILABLE
THE STORY HOUR by Thrity Umrigar
Harper, September 2014, 320 pages

Exciting news! We have a new Thrity Umrigar novel!

From the critically beloved, best-selling author of The World We Found and The Space Between Us comes a profound, heartbreakingly honest novel about the beauty of forgiveness and the power of second chances.
As a dedicated and seasoned practitioner, psychiatrist Maggie prides herself on her ability to remain professionally detached from her patients. But when a young Indian woman ends up at her hospital after a suicide attempt, Maggie finds herself ignoring all the rules. Lakshmi, who left all her family behind when she immigrated to America, is desperately lonely and trapped in a loveless marriage, her life circumscribed by the walls of her husband’s small Indian restaurant and grocery store. Ending her life feels like the only way out of her misery. Deeply affected by Lakshmi’s loneliness and disturbed by her domineering husband, Maggie impulsively offers to treat her as an out-patient free of charge. When the sessions begin, it’s apparent that Lakshmi doesn’t really need a doctor; she needs a friend. Maggie abandons protocol, determined to empower Lakshmi as a woman who feels valued in her own right, and the two develop a powerful relationship that is full of affection but also warped by conflicting expectations. Blossoming, on the road to healing her marriage, Lakshmi finally shares the reason for her departure from India - and inadvertently discovers that Maggie has a dark secret of her own. These revelations jeopardize everything they have worked so hard to build, forcing them to make some extremely difficult choices.

This jewel of a novel once again demonstrates that few writers capture the complexities, challenges, and rewards of love—both platonic and romantic—like Thrity Umrigar. In an achingly human story about our capacity for faith, forgiveness, and hope, she allows us to celebrate the power of second chances. Thrity Umrigar is the author of five novels—The World We Found, The Weight of Heaven, The Space Between Us, If Today Be Sweet, and Bombay Time—and the memoir First Darling of the Morning. A journalist for almost twenty years, she is the winner of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard and 2006 finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award. Harper

THE WORLD WE FOUND sold: Norwegian/Juritzen; Polish/Pascal; Portuguese rights in Brazil/Nova Fronteira; Turkish/Feniks

Additional selling points:

• AWARD-WINNING, BESTSELLING AUTHOR: Both The World We Found and The Weight of Heaven were Indie Next Picks, and Thrity’s novels are repeatedly featured in national “Best Of” fiction lists. The World We Found received a LAMBDA fiction award in 2013, and in 2007, Umrigar was a Finalist for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award.

• REVIEWER’S DARLING: The World We Found received fantastic reviews from the Washington Post, Boston Globe, People, The Huffington Post, and many more. All of them emphasized Thrity Umrigar’s talents and skills as a storyteller. Her past books have been reviewed and acclaimed by major publications around the world, including the Financial Times, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, India Currents, New York Times Book Review, Washington Post Book Review, Boston Globe, National Post (Canada), Booklist (starred review), Pages Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Time Out New York, and Life Magazine.

• DISCUSSES COMPLEX CONTEMPORARY ISSUES LIKE IMMIGRATION: With sensitivity and remarkable depth of feeling, Thrity navigates us through the difficulties of building a brand new life in a foreign country. Lakshmi’s desperate struggle to adapt while longing for the world she left behind is authentic and moving.

• PERFECT FOR DISCUSSION: Maggie and Lakshmi’s relationship poses fundamental questions about the nature of female friendships—and the ethical responsibilities doctors have to their patients. The challenges each woman faces in her romantic life also force readers to ponder the qualities of loyalty and forgiveness.
 

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Agata Żabowska

agata@literatura.com.pl