M.G. Vassanji is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories and three works of non-fiction. He is twice winner of Canada's Giller Prize for fiction, the Governor General's Prize for best work of non-fiction, the Commonwealth First Book Prize and the Bressani Prize. He was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts, is a member of the Order of Canada and has been awarded several honorary doctorates. Born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania, he lives in Toronto and visits East Africa and India often
Two-time Winner of the Giller Prize
Munir Khan, a recent widower from Toronto, meets the charming and witty Mohini Singh, a married liberal newspaper columnist, in the bar of the high-brow Delhi Recreational Club. An enigma surrounds the Kenya-born, westernized and agnostic Munir, and an inexplicable attraction takes root. Delhi's streets, monuments and ruins become the setting of their passionate affair.
A terror attack shakes the city just as Jetha Lal and his acolytes, self-proclaimed protectors of cows and Hindu women, raise decibel levels at the Club. Meanwhile, Mohini's parents' wounded memory of the Partition and a family trip to Shirdi only serve to exacerbate her anxieties and deep sense of guilt. And even as Jetha Lal's menacing shadow looms over them, Munir and Mohini cannot let each other go. At what cost their passion?
Written with trademark sensitivity and a sharp, affecting vision, A Delhi Obsession is M.G. Vassanji's most urgent novel yet. Set in contemporary times, it unravels an unexpected yet prophetic story of passion, love and faith, amidst the placid environment of an elite Delhi club. Cutting close to the bone, this searing novel will compel you to confront your profoundest dilemmas.
