Death Of Vishnu

Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing: Around him the lives of the apartment dwellers unfold: the warring housewives on the first floor, lovesick teenagers on the second, and the widower, alone and quietly grieving on the top floor of the building. In a fevered state Vishnu looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmim and wonders if he might actually be the god Vishnu, guardian of the entire universe.

Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnu is an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world.

"[A] literary accomplishment...eloquent, refined and tasteful." Washington Post Book World

"Witness the debut journey of a remarkable writer....[A] combination of ruthlessness, insight, humor, and wickedly perfect pitch....For once, all the hype about a major new literary voice isn't wrong." Entertainment Weekly

"Suri has a cynic's sense of humor and a seeker's sense of wonder, and the author displays both to penetrating effect in his first novel." Padma Viswanathan, Book Magazine

"Suri writes with obvious affection about a Bombay perhaps already lost, evoking its moods and attitudes, its light and smells....Suri's eye for detail and natural ability to create a strong sense of place and time define his considerable talent." Navtej Sarna, Times Literary Supplement (U.K.)

Vishnu, the odd-job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing: Around him the lives of the apartment dwellers unfold: the warring housewives on the first floor, lovesick teenagers on the second, and the widower, alone and quietly grieving on the top floor of the building. In a fevered state Vishnu looks back on his love affair with the seductive Padmim and wonders if he might actually be the god Vishnu, guardian of the entire universe.

Blending incisive comedy with Hindu mythology and a dash of Bollywood sparkle, The Death of Vishnuis an intimate and compelling view of an unforgettable world.

Manil Suri, a native of Mumbai (Bombay), has lived in the United States since 1979. He is a professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. His fiction has appeared in The New Yorker. The Death of Vishnu is his first novel.