In the foothills of the Himalayas sits a once grand, now crumbling house – home to three people and a dog. There is the retired judge dreaming of colonial yesterdays; his orphaned granddaughter Sai who has fallen for her clever maths tutor; the cook whose son Biju writes untruthful letters home from New York City; and Mutt, whose bark is worse than her bite.

Around the house swirls mountain mist – but also the forces of revolution and change. For a new world is clashing with the old, and the future offers both hope and betrayal...

The Carte Noire Readers
Watch a video of Greg Wise reading an extract from The Inheritance of Loss.

'A big, bold, sprawling novel, a tragicomedy of thwarted dreams.'
Mail on Sunday

'The disciplined exuberance of Desai's writing makes it a pleasure to read. Her narrative voice is attractive and insightful.'
Daily Telegraph

'A bold and original voice.'
Independent

'Almost Virginia Woolf-like ... scored with intelligence, humanity and wit.'
Sunday Times

Read an interview with Kiran Desai on the Guardian website.