A. P. Firdaus
Writer of trivial, fantastical things
Embedded Files
90s nostalgia.
Memories of India's partition.
Fascists making fools of themselves.
And a vulture who will not stand for foul language.
Remember, Mr Sharma
by A. P. Firdaus
Out now, in stores and online
Get it on Hive, Waterstones, Bookshop.org, or, if you must, on Amazon.
About Remember, Mr Sharma
Featured on BBC2 Between the Covers TV Book Club, presented by Sara Cox.
Featured on BBC2 Between the Covers TV Book Club, presented by Sara Cox.
‘A magical tale of a troubled family.‘
The Telegraph
‘Sublime. A fantastic debut from a promising new literary voice.’
Nick Bradley, author of Four Seasons in Japan
‘Charming and endearing . . . a moving story about the past and the shadow it forever leaves on the present.’
Huma Qureshi, author of Things We Do Not Tell the People We Love
Delhi, 1997: It is India's 50th year of independence, the year of Hindu nationalists and atomic bombs. But 12-year-old Adi has a bigger problem: his Ma has gone missing – again.
Left with an ailing grandmother, a raging father and no answers, he finds an unlikely ally: a talking vulture who reveals itself to be a bureaucrat from the 'Department of Historical Adjustment'. The Department holds Adi's family files, which will take him on a journey through time and memory, through fifty years of India’s history, uncovering the darkest secrets of his Ma’s past. But first, he must unlock them by facing his greatest fears.
As bright and hopeful as it is devastating, Remember, Mr Sharma explores the ways in which we view the past, its inescapable hold over us and the stories we tell to set ourselves free.
About me
About me
I grew up in Delhi — a lonely child in a crowded house where most dreams were about air-conditioners and stable jobs. Mine, unfortunately, were less practical: creating worlds into which I could escape.
For over a decade, I worked as a copywriter by day — in Mumbai, Singapore and London — taking grains of truth and polishing them until they dazzled. By night, I lay staring at the blank screen, chasing those childish dreams.
When the University of East Anglia offered a scholarship for their famed Creative Writing MA, I finally gathered the courage to take myself seriously — to write, and to be a writer. It took me two years to learn that this was going to be a lifelong course.
Now, living in Berlin, I lie awake still, chasing that little boy's dreams. It makes the mornings hard, yes, but it fills these deep winter nights with a wondrous light.
Awards
Winner, Bath Novel Award 2021
Longlisted, Commonwealth Writers Prize 2021
Winner, Writing the City 2018, British Council Singapore
Press
Interview, Bath Novel Award
Press Release: Sceptre bags Firdaus's award-winning debut novel
Launch event: In conversation at Battersea Bookstore, London
BBC Between the Covers: Featured on the TV book club
About everything else
About everything else
For rights, interviews and event queries: Julia Silk, Greyhound Literary Agency
For compliments, criticisms and general trolling: @abhi_firdaus
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