Scarsdale Adult School Spotlight
Delve into a buzzy novel about a young man’s conflicting loyalties and self-discovery.
AUTHOR VISIT: BEENA KAMALI, THE ENGLISH PROBLEM
Due out January 29th, 2025 by Crown Publishing, The English Problem is set against the backdrop of the Indian independence movement. Protagonist Shiv Advani is selected by Mahatma Gandhi to travel from Western India to England. There, Advani will study law for the purpose of returning home better equipped to drive out the British colonialists. Before he departs, his family insists on his betrothal in an arranged marriage.
Once in London, Advani's allegiances—to his family, culture, and politics—are tested. He soon discovers a world he is both repelled by and drawn to. At the esteemed Inns of Court, he is confronted not only with the formidable task of learning centuries of British case law, but also the Byzantine rules of society. For “the English Problem” is multifaceted; the racist colonialism of “the empire on which the sun never sets” seeps into everything, not just landed territories but also territories of the mind: literature, language, religion, sexuality, self-identity. Soon, the people Shiv sought to be liberated from will be the people he desperately wants to be a part of.
Author Beena Kamali
Beautifully written in understated prose, this tender saga illustrates one man's personal liberation, as it also shows the multifaceted relationship between British and Indian culture and the impact of Gandhi's nonviolent resistance. Publisher’s Weekly calls the novel “A dynamic character portrait as well as a nuanced depiction of India’s struggles against British rule. It’s a triumph.”
Wednesday, Feb. 5; 7:00 p.m.-8:15 p.m. at Scarsdale Public Library; course 13049; $30. Register here.
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