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The Miniaturist

The Miniaturist

by KunalBasu (Author)

  • Used

    Hardcover 2003

    $3.43

  • Used

    Paperback 2004

    $3.72

  • Used

    Hardcover 2003

    $4.95
Synopsis

This exquisite novel unfolds a story of ambition and love at the glittering court of the Mughal emperor Akbar in 16h century Hindustan. Bihzad is the most gifted of all the young artists in the emperor's workshop, and the son of the emperor's chief artist. When Akbar decides to move his court from his ancient capital at Agra to the new city he is building at Fatehpur Sikri, he takes the brilliant young man with him. There, cut off from family and the distractions of Agra, Bihzad's troubling obsession with his master is allowed to develop. When his illicit love becomes public knowledge, Akbar has no choice but to banish his young favourite to the wildest corner of his empire. Politics and paintings fill the pages of this vividly imagined novel.

$3.43

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More Information

Format: Hardcover
 Pages: 224
 Publisher: W&N
Published: 09 Jan 2003
ISBN 10: 0297829262
ISBN 13: 9780297829263
Book Overview: Praise for THE OPIUM CLERK 'THE OPIUM CLERK is a first novel of rare assurance, imaginatively set and richly textured with tales that spin away into elliptical orbits. Basu's evocative descriptions conjure the magic and heartbreak of the East.' TLS 'Most impressive of all is the way Basu manages to blend the political and the human dimensions, to the detriment of neither. His writing style is pungent and imaginative. THE OPIUM CLERK is an impressive debut.' Waterstones Quarterly

Media Reviews
We had a very good launch for this down in Oxford and there is currently an exhibition on at the V&A featuring the illustrations from the Mughal Emperor Akbar's favourite stories in the Hamzanama which feature in THE MINIATURIST. the reviews which have come in so far have been excellent: 'THE MINIATURIST shows him to be a master of his craft.....his novel is a cut-glass superstructure, as sumptuous as the imperial pleasure domes that he describes, and crafted with the miniaturist's wizardry.'Alistair Sooke, THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'THE MINIATURIST is every bit as perfect and detailed as a Mughal painting should be. Well crafted in all its details of colour and texture, it is a craftsman's intensely passionate creation.'Mithu Banerji, THE OBSERVER 'Ultimately, Basu's is not a historical novel in the conventional sense either. Itsearly sections, do however, display the imprimatur of authenticity and the diligent scholarship of an outsider from another Indian tradition.... Like theMughal miniaturists, Basu surrounds the central figure with exquisitely intricate incidental detail.'Aamer Hussein, THE INDEPENDENT 'Baus is a miniaturist himself, bringing many lives into 200-odd pages and producing a rich tale of artistic and erotic obsession.TIME OUT 'richly detailed..... Basu keeps us intrigued by his hero and by the exotic world that creates and destroys him.THE SUNDAY TIMES 'a lush beautifully written book.'THE SUNDAY TRIBUNE 'there are many wonderful sequences in this novel. Basu has a wide and sympathetic mind that enlivens historical research. The description of Bihzad's paintings are compelling and the renunciations of his final years is moving.'Royce Mahawatte, THE TLS and one of the GOOD BOOK GUIDE 'This is an absorbing adventure through a fabled realm, an enthralling combination of fast-moving plot and a subtle examination of the real meaning of art' 'This novel is a delicious 16th century blend of the Mongols, Turks, Persians, Afghans, Christians, Hindus,Muslims, Sufis, wine, opium, friendship, lust and love. A heady brew, definitely worth the calories.'India Today 'The novel is steeped in intrigue and passion...it awakens the inertia of readers immersed in the cliches of a lot ofmodern Indian fiction. (Basu's) manipulation of history, art, and time, of facts and of fiction emerge in this neat little book, which indeed is a gem. This year should be the year of The Miniaturist.'Times of India 'The Miniaturist is rather like a Mughal miniature itself - small, vivid and perfectly craft
Author Bio
Kunal Basu was born in Calcutta but has spent much of his adult life in Canada and the USA. He currently teaches at Oxford and McGill universities.