VINOD BUSJEET was born in Mauritius, a multiracial island in the Indian Ocean. He holds degrees from Wesleyan University, New York University, and Harvard University and spent twenty-nine years in economic development, finance, and diplomacy, holding positions at the World Bank, International Finance Corporation, and as a secondary school teacher in Mauritius. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife. This is his first book.
ONE OF NPR'S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • One of the Most Anticipated
Books of the Summer by: The Millions, Paperback Paris, SheReads,
and Book Culture
“Busjeet excels in vivid, tactile experiences and unforgettable
Mauritian characters…Certainly, Silent Winds doesn't shy away from
typical polarities: young versus old; tradition versus modernity;
freedom versus repression; community versus individual. Yet,
through the archetypal Vishnu, Busjeet charts the entire evolution
of Mauritian society, grounded in its historical context, with
sharp wit, poetic charm, and graceful insights…it is a much-needed
addition to the small body of contemporary Mauritian
literature.”
--NPR.com
"Migration and its opportunities are at the heart of Vinod
Busjeet’s debut. . .The novel takes us through natural disasters,
political upheaval, bureaucratic corruption and economic
instability. For readers unfamiliar with Mauritius, this history is
illuminating, the richness of detail showcasing some of the best
writing in the book. . . A vivid rendering of a world
unfamiliar to many."
--The New York Times
“The beauty of Busjeet’s splendid, often breathtaking book is, like
the best stories of journeys to young adulthood, the precious and
well-observed and heartbreaking details of day-to-day
life.”
--Edward P. Jones, best-selling author of The Known
World, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
"Nearly half a million indentured workers landed in Mauritius,
laboring for French Mauritian and British planters whose greed
transformed the island into the world’s biggest sugar factory for a
time. Busjeet’s novel offers a rare view of the society that
evolved from this brutish system."
--The Paris Review
“Set primarily on the island nation of Mauritius, Busjeet’s
inventive debut ping-pongs through time, combining poetic passages
with linked tales to tell a story of family, politics, and
yearning….Throughout, Busjeet consistently dazzles with Vishnu’s
narration, conveying the character’s developing maturity,
creativity—several poems by the narrator cover his early years—and
deep feeling for people even tangentially in his orbit. This
showcases a remarkable and confident writer.”
--Publishers Weekly, *starred* review
"Amazing. . .Busjeet writes with a great sense of humor and wisdom,
evoking wonderful details of bygone life in Mauritius--religious
customs, cuisine, culture clash, and comic as well as painful
misunderstanding. . .A vivid, poetic, and yes, even rhapsodic
tribute to Mauritius.”
--Josip Novakovich, 2013 Man Booker International Finalist
"Whether navigating the rigid caste society of Mauritius, where
reputation and family honor mean everything, or learning the ropes
of American academia and high finance, where money and power rule,
Vishnu Bhushan is a picaresque hero worthy of Dickens. Silent Wind,
Dry Seas is a complex, honest coming of age story."
--Stewart O’Nan, author of West of Sunset
"Silent Winds, Dry Seas is a classic coming-of-age novel--wise,
tender, beautifully written, and utterly transporting. Vinod
Busjeet is a gifted storyteller."
--Jennifer Haigh, New York Times bestselling author of Heat and
Light
"Most American readers of Silent Winds, Dry Seas are unlikely ever
to travel to Mauritius, but Vinod Busjeet's evocation of the
island a half century ago is so vivid and layered that they will
feel, in the course of these remarkable pages, that they have made
several extended and not-to-be-forgotten trips there. By turns
tender and ironic, proud and self-deprecating, and written with
superb clarity, this fine novel is replete with insights and
pleasures.
--Thomas Mallon, author of Henry and Clara and Fellow Travelers
"This story of one young man's heart-wrenching—and often
hilarious—journey from a colonial island steeped in ancient culture
and customs to 1970's Connecticut, is rendered in a voice so wholly
authentic—so wryly observant, so quietly intelligent and poetic, so
intensely alive—that you cannot say at what point you have become
completely addicted to it, only that you have. Busjeet's narrator,
Vishnu, is a bona fide literary creation, and Silent Winds, Dry
Seas feels like discovery: wonderfully fresh and new at the outset,
profoundly accomplished and wise in the end. You will not forget
the experience of the first time you read this brilliant novel."
--Tim Johnston, New York Times bestselling author of Descent
and The Current
"Magnificent. . .With real talent, Busjeet leads you from hell to
heaven, from the kingdom of childhood and innocence to an island
world where narrow minds harbor petty hatreds and old secrets. . .A
splendid song to courage and dignity, a human and poetic
adventure.”
--Abdourahman Waberi, author of In the United States of Africa
“A pleasure to read; it has a terrific set of characters and
situations, and the unknown landscape, for me, became part of the
suspense of wondering what would happen next.”
--Antonya Nelson, author of Nothing Right: Short Stories and
Bound
“I’ve never read anything quite like Vinod Busjeet’s poetic and
dreamy novel Silent Winds, Dry Seas. A true original, rich in both
comedy and heart, about a Mauritian man’s coming of age by a writer
of great power."
--Jeff Parker, Where Bears Roam the Streets
“In lyrical prose, Vinod Busjeet brings to life the island of
Mauritius, braiding stories of childhood, family rivalry, and the
eternal pursuit of freedom. Silent Winds, Dry Sea is a powerful
debut humming with life, humor, and love.”
--Alexander Weinstein, author of Universal Love
“Silent Winds, Dry Seas is one of the first novels by a Mauritian
author to be originally published in the United States. Deeply
imbued with autobiographical elements, it is a coming-of-age story
and a tale of emigration. But most of all, Silent Winds, Dry Seas
is a love letter to Independence-era Mauritius. . .glowing
encapsulations of a country’s conversation with itself that
continue to linger in the reader’s mind long after the last page
has been turned.” --World Literature Today
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