Spring 2012 in India

"Basu interweaves strands of romance, medicine, and history into a fascinating cross-cultural tapestry...Conjuring up an exotic time and place, Basu provides a passport into a vanished world" - Booklist

Born in India, Basu's four novels and one collection of short stories combine the culture of his native country with those of the countries to which he has traveled. Basu sets his first novel, The Opium Clerk, in the aftermath of India's 1857 Mutiny against the British East India Company. The Miniaturist focuses less on history and more on Basu's expertise with issues of emotion and artifice; however, Basu goes back to the combination of culture and history in his third novel, The Racists. More than in his novels, the characters in Basu's collection of short stories emphasize the extent of his travels, yet he weaves these stories and characters together with the theme of the unexpected. Basu draws upon the success of his combination for his newest novel, The Yellow Emperor's Cure, which has received positive reviews from critics and readers alike. Presently, he teaches at Oxford University in England, where he lives with his wife and daughter.

For more information on Basu and his novels, please visit http://kunalbasu.com/home.php.