Author Kiran Desai Brings Global Stories to Purchase

By Julia Wojcik

Students, faculty and Broadview residents gathered at the Humanities Durst Theatre for an evening with internationally acclaimed novelist Kiran Desai as part of the first Durst Distinguished Lecture series.

Desai spoke about her long journey of writing after a 20-year hiatus and the ideas behind her newest novel, “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” through personal reflections and conversation with creative writing Professor Monica Ferrell.

Desai began the evening by reading a short passage from the novel before reflecting on the early experiences that shaped her writing. She discussed how many of the ideas behind her work date back to her college years in Vermont. Coming from New Delhi, it was the first time she experienced a deep sense of physical loneliness, far from home, familiar surroundings, and most importantly, cultural food. “I think that’s the main difference between life in the western world and life in the eastern world,” Desai said. “There, you may feel lonely, but you are never physically alone, and all of a sudden, I was a foreign student in a college in Vermont.”

To fill that quiet space, she turned to reading and writing, spending long hours working as a librarian and imagining that one day she might author a book that would sit on those shelves, waiting to be discovered and enjoyed by many.

In time, that vision became reality with the publication of her first two novels, “Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard” and “The Inheritance of Loss," both of which went on to reach audiences worldwide.

Professor Monica Ferrell interviewing Kiran Desai on the Humanities Theatre's stage. (Photo by Julia Wojcik)

Afterwards, in a question-and-answer session, she began reflecting on the various plotlines and main themes of the novel, being influenced by the memories of her childhood. “I thought that this was my last chance to really write about India because I would never know it again so deeply,” said Desai. “A novel works like a museum, and it preserves, it captures things that are changing.”

The conversation then focused on how Desai tied these elements together after not publishing a book for 20 years. The novel was later shortlisted for the Booker Prize, named a Kirkus Prize finalist, and selected as a best book of the year by the New York Times, The New Yorker, and NPR. The integration of the characters' longing to find acceptance in the states through their passion was explored further through conversation.

“I was thinking about how many of the characters in this book understand themselves and their place in the world through books, through writing,” said Ferrell during the interview. “Sonia, going around with a copy of ‘Anna Karenina,’ almost understanding herself as at the center of this doomed and glamorous relationship, or Sunny, who is a journalist wanting to see himself as Ernest Hemingway.”

Photo of Kiran Desai’s novels. (Photo by Julia Wojcik)

The second half of the meeting began with questions asked by the audience themselves. The questions ranged from broad questions about Desai’s novels to serious issues and motifs in her works. This exchange offered students a rare opportunity to hear insights about an author’s writing and editing process and receive some writing tips for their future endeavors.

One participant, junior screenwriting and playwriting major Nurah Landrum, had the opportunity to ask Desai a question during the meeting and was also part of an informal student meeting that occurred before the lecture. “I really appreciated all of her thoughts that we got to pick her brain for,” Landrum said. “It was nice to have this event during Ramadan because I got to talk to her about my Muslim family in Ohio, and she was very nice.”

As the meeting ended, participants were still buzzing with new questions and stories they wanted to share. Desai stayed to sign and personalize the participants' books and answered their burning questions that they could not ask during the short lecture time.

 Desai personalizing books in the Humanities building. (Photo by Julia Wojcik)

Desai commented on her experience and what advice she would give to students. “I wandered all over the place within the novel," Desai remarked. "If I am ever teaching, I always give my students the exact opposite advice. You can write a million different things, so think about what you want to write.”

As the event concluded, it was evident that Kiran Desai left students with more than just an evening of conversation. Her reflections underscored a simple but powerful idea: stories endure, and the voices that bring them to life continue to shape how we understand ourselves, our history and each other.