Publisher Description

A GRANTA BEST YOUNG AMERICAN NOVELIST 2017

When the Khurana boys and their friend Mansoor set out for one of Delhi's markets, disaster strikes without warning. A 'small' bomb detonates, killing the brothers instantly. Mansoor is one of the few survivors.

From India to America, the lives of victims and bystanders, mothers and fathers, comrades and adversaries are changed forever. Even the young bomb maker cannot escape the heat of the blast.

'I can't remember the last time I read a book which conjured a world so rich and so convincing'
MARK HADDON

'Brilliant... Masterful'
KEVIN POWERS

'Unusually wise, tender and generous'
JIM CRACE

'Breathtaking... Unforgettable'
ADELLE WALDMAN

'Packed with small wonders of beauty and heartbreak that are impossible to resist'
DINAW MENGESTU

Notes

Paperback edition of the latest novel from the Indian author of Family Planning, who now lives in Texas. It follows a boy who is affected by a bomb blast in Delhi in 1996. 'A gripping, timely and moving novel by a writer of enormous talent.' Geoff Dyer

Author Biography

Karan Mahajan grew up in New Delhi, India and lives in Austin, Texas. His first novel, Family Planning, was a finalist for the Dylan Thomas Prize and was published in nine countries. The Association of Small Bombs was a finalist for the National Book Award and was selected as one of the New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of 2016. His writing has appeared in many publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New Yorker online and The Believer.

Review

Wonderful. It is smart, unpredictable and enviably adept in its handling of tragedy and its fallout * New York Times *
A superb novel… Mahajan inhabits two sides of a divided India * Financial Times *
Extraordinary... A mind-blowing book on many, many levels * BBC Radio 4 *
A voracious approach to fiction-making, a daring imaginative promiscuity * New Yorker *
In Mahajan's riveting, intricate story, the aftershocks of small bombs are as inescapable as their explosions -- Alex Traub * Vice Magazine *

Prizes

Short-listed for DSC South Asian Literature Prize 2017 (UK)

Review Text

"Wonderful. It is smart, unpredictable and enviably adept in its handling of tragedy and its fallout"

Review Quote

Wonderful. It is smart, unpredictable and enviably adept in its handling of tragedy and its fallout

Promotional "Headline"

A heartbreaking, award-winning novel about family, courage and the modern world

Details