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Residue
Residue is that which remains in us and allows us to regrow, as we move across national borders and move on from events. Named for the revolutionary Trotsky by a missing communist father he never saw, Leon Ali is a Kashmiri born in Britain and brought up by a single mother in Delhi. Keya Raina is a Kashmiri scholar of exile, an insecure immigrant, who collects other peoples stories. Marked by the oppressive history of Kashmir, they meet in Berlin, the city of Cold War partitions and begin a journey of discovery, which reveals to them the story of Shula Farid, the bohemian wife of a staid Bengali diplomat. Through their travels, these two young Kashmiris outside Kashmir find startling truths about themselves in the midst of unwitting identities and multiple belongings-the residue of shared human emotions. A riveting exploration of mobility and affinity across the borders of nation and faith, Residue provides fascinating glimpses of class-stratified urban India, divided Berlin and complications of identity in England. It is a remarkable novel about divided lands and fortress continents, lines inked in blood and memory and the absences they create in peoples lives and imaginations.
- GenresFiction
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 25, 2014
BOOK REVIEW Vinod Kaul
Book: Residue
Author: Nitasha Kaul
Pages:324
Some novels challenge our vision of the world and are disruptive to our peace of mind. Others seek inner depth and look for harmony between outside disruptive events and views. Nitasha Kaul has chosen the latter. Having a joint doctorate in Economics and Philosophy she traverses the contours of identity along broken paths.
The hero, a Muslim and a Kashmiri to boot has the most unlikely name, Leon given by a father with Communist leanings. He faces the ugly side of religious discrimination in Hindu India followed by discrimination of another kind on the Continent. This prompts him to search for his identity and his missing - presumed decamped - father. Ably assisted in his search is the queen of identities – Kaye – a Kashmiri Pundit woman, surely a portrayal of the author herself. A number of smaller stories are finally stitched together in Berlin, a city once divided.
The book has all the sensitivity of a feminine hand. It also has the signature of professional depth. However, it does linger on in some areas such as the long – a dozen pages - anonymous metro ride that Leon takes in Berlin.
It ends as in a modern fairly tale with the diametrically opposites reconciled and faith in the world rekindled.
Residue is Nitasha Kaul’s debut novel. I picked up the book because I share the last name with the author although she is no relation of mine. Like me she has travelled to many countries. However, unlike me, she is academically well endowed with interests in culture, gender and economics.
According to the jacket, the book was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009 while still in manuscript form. I look forward to the London based author’s next book.
Book: Residue
Author: Nitasha Kaul
Pages:324
Some novels challenge our vision of the world and are disruptive to our peace of mind. Others seek inner depth and look for harmony between outside disruptive events and views. Nitasha Kaul has chosen the latter. Having a joint doctorate in Economics and Philosophy she traverses the contours of identity along broken paths.
The hero, a Muslim and a Kashmiri to boot has the most unlikely name, Leon given by a father with Communist leanings. He faces the ugly side of religious discrimination in Hindu India followed by discrimination of another kind on the Continent. This prompts him to search for his identity and his missing - presumed decamped - father. Ably assisted in his search is the queen of identities – Kaye – a Kashmiri Pundit woman, surely a portrayal of the author herself. A number of smaller stories are finally stitched together in Berlin, a city once divided.
The book has all the sensitivity of a feminine hand. It also has the signature of professional depth. However, it does linger on in some areas such as the long – a dozen pages - anonymous metro ride that Leon takes in Berlin.
It ends as in a modern fairly tale with the diametrically opposites reconciled and faith in the world rekindled.
Residue is Nitasha Kaul’s debut novel. I picked up the book because I share the last name with the author although she is no relation of mine. Like me she has travelled to many countries. However, unlike me, she is academically well endowed with interests in culture, gender and economics.
According to the jacket, the book was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2009 while still in manuscript form. I look forward to the London based author’s next book.
August 3, 2016
Residue is a fascinating novel. Beautifully written. It's tragic, yet alive. Loved it!
August 3, 2015
Enorm onder de indruk van Nitasha's boek. Mijn 'mood' wordt erdoor gepakt. Keya, Shula, Leon...het is een boek geschreven door een vrouw en dat betekent: geen retoriek, geen voorspelbaar relaas over goeden en slechten, daden en slachtoffers, maar de nuances, het gekleurde en diffuse in plaats van zwart-wit vierkante verhaal; geen bombast maar een kwetsbaar zoeken; geen lege heroïek of onnozele romantiek; het zoekende en dapper eerlijk confronterende in plaats van het zelfverzekerd- rechtlijnige en 'monologische' dat zoveel boeken over (het dispuut) Kashmir kenmerkt. Een verademing, een leerzame en tot reflectie aanmoedigende tekst, literatuur in plaats van schotschrift of pamflet. Wijsheid, leven zoals het echt is in plaats van door retoriek vervormd en verminkt.
Marjan Lucas, Nijmegen/The Netherlands
Marjan Lucas, Nijmegen/The Netherlands
April 16, 2018
It offers what a typical novel should offer. Keeps one involved throughout but at the end, it just obsesses you. You get very curious as what the next page offers. The narration is nice and easy.
On the cons side, the vocabulary seemed too bombastic to me (should blame myself for it). Characters are too predictive at times. And coincidences happen too often.
It is novel which you won't regret reading and may even love but like so many good things in life, it could have got better.
Still am looking forward to the next novel by the author.
On the cons side, the vocabulary seemed too bombastic to me (should blame myself for it). Characters are too predictive at times. And coincidences happen too often.
It is novel which you won't regret reading and may even love but like so many good things in life, it could have got better.
Still am looking forward to the next novel by the author.
May 25, 2021
A great novel that blends an interesting story line with some echoes of Kaul's thoughtful reflections on Kashmiri and South Asian politics. She expertly illustrates some of the different cultural realities of both Asia and Europe, both familial and political.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews