M.G. Vassanji
A Place Within: Rediscovering India
Non-fiction English-Language
Photo : Kabir Vassanji
M.G. Vassanji, Toronto,
A Place Within: Rediscovering India.
(Doubleday Canada;
distributed by Random House of Canada)
(ISBN 978-0-385-66178-2)
Biography
Born in Kenya and raised in Tanzania, M.G. Vassanji began his career as a theoretical nuclear physicist. When his first novel, The Gunny Sack (1989), was published, he left physics to devote himself to writing. He co-edited and founded the literary magazine, The Toronto South Asian Review, and later a publishing company named TSAR Publications. He has written two collections of short stories and six acclaimed novels, including The Assassin's Song, which was shortlisted for the 2007 GGs and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He has twice been awarded the Giller Prize, for his novels The Book of Secrets and The In-Between World of Vikram Lall. M.G. Vassanji moved to Canada in 1978 and lives in Toronto.
Jury's comment
An utterly brilliant, evocative memoir that ranges across the landscapes of culture, memory, identity and history. M.G. Vassanji's style – diverse and playful – brings the reader along effortlessly, illuminating the ramshackle roots of self, family, and culture. An outstanding book of self-reflection and persistent insight, A Place Within is the resonant chronicle of a sage, a traveler, a pilgrim.