Kiran Desai

About the Author

Kiran Desai was born in New Delhi, India in 1971. Her mother is Anita Desai, who is also a highly successful author. Kiran studied at the prestigious Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. She and her mother moved to England when Kiran was 14 years old, then moved to the United States a year later. Kiran studied and developed her creative writing skills at several American universities, including Columbia University and Bennington College. Her novels have earned her various literary awards such as the Man Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award, and the Betty Trask Award. Today, Kiran lives in New York City. She hasn’t published any more novels since The Inheritance of Loss in 2006, though she mentioned in 2017 that she’s working on a new novel. This future novel and her other works focus on India and its people. The Economic Times included Desai in their 2015 list of the 20 most influential Indian women in the world.

LitCharts guides for works by Kiran Desai

Explore LitCharts literature guides for works by Kiran Desai. Each guide includes a full summary, detailed analysis, and helpful resources for studying Kiran Desai's writing.

Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard

During what’s supposed to be the monsoon season, the small town of Shahkot, India experiences a prolonged and terrible drought. A strange woman named Kulfi begins to act even stranger than usual, a... view guide

The Inheritance of Loss

The novel opens on the judge and his granddaughter Sai sitting on the veranda of their home, Cho Oyu, while their cook makes tea and the judge’s dog, Mutt, sleeps on the porch. A set of boys from ... view guide