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First published in the New Yorker in 2009, In the South is a work of fiction by Salman Rushdie looking at the meaning of 'a life well lived' from the points of view of two old men with very different personalities
The two men bear the same name (undisclosed throughout the story, but said to start with the letter "V") and are referred to as "Senior" and "Junior", although their ages are only 17 days apart. They live next door to each other in apartments with adjacent verandas. In spite of their parallel names, ages, life seasons, and retirement situations, the two men serve as foils for one another. Senior has lived a life full of rich experiences, stimulating discussions, and a vibrant family. However, the richness of his youth leads him to discount life under his present old-age conditions, and he finds himself constantly bitter and dissatisfied, longing for seasons gone by. Rude to those around him and pessimistic in most things, Senior is generally disagreeable, but his deep and loyal affection for Junior (although not often expressed) remains an endearing and redeeming quality throughout the story. Junior, meanwhile, has had a far less eventful life, characterized by mediocrity and never quite lived to its fullest. He had had an underwhelming career, never married, and never devoted himself to particularly passionate pursuits. Thus, while he is not "waiting to die" as Senior is, he is instead "still waiting to live." Nonetheless, Junior remains quite happy and optimistic about life, despite being disappointed in his own.
The story describes Senior and Junior as they go about their days, making the thirty-minute trek each week to cash in their pension checks and sitting on their verandas bickering back and forth. One day, Junior is hit by some girls on a Vespa and is struck down and instantly killed. Senior mourns his death deeply, wishing it were he instead. As more deaths strike the area due to a large tsunami, Senior laments that Death would take so many and yet leave him, who barely desires his meaningless life. Ultimately, he realizes that "death and life are just adjacent verandas."
In all of this, Rushdie explores two contrasting approaches to life and death, exhibiting both in their pains and joys, merits and shortcomings. Although opposing in their plights— Junior plagued by death, and Senior by life, Junior by a past unlived and Senior by a past that can never be lived up to— both men grapple with the same common themes of the human experience, coming together to show the double edge sword that is old-age survival, memory, and the passing of time.
It has been translated in Bengali by Ranak Zaman at 2018 book fair.
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental trauma during the war as well as the detachment from civilian life felt by many upon returning home from the war.
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Western civilizations, typically set on the Indian subcontinent. Rushdie's second novel, Midnight's Children (1981), won the Booker Prize in 1981 and was deemed to be "the best novel of all winners" on two occasions, marking the 25th and the 40th anniversary of the prize.
Sir Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born British novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and praised contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature. In its citation, the Swedish Academy described Ishiguro as a writer "who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world".
The Remains of the Day is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The protagonist, Stevens, is a butler with a long record of service at Darlington Hall, a stately home near Oxford, England. In 1956, he takes a road trip to visit a former colleague, and reminisces about events at Darlington Hall in the 1920s and 1930s.
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and a film noir-esque grizzled detective. His appearances throughout the Discworld sequence show him slowly and grudgingly rising through the ranks of both police force and society. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is stated as being "His Grace, His Excellency, The 1st Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes". When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as "His Excellency", and is also nicknamed "Blackboard Monitor Vimes", "Vimes the Butcher" and "Vetinari's Terrier". According to his wife, Sybil, Vimes is recognised by many as Lord Vetinari's right-hand man.
To a God Unknown is a novel by John Steinbeck, first published in 1933. The book was Steinbeck's third novel. Steinbeck found To a God Unknown extremely difficult to write; taking him roughly five years to complete, the novel proved more time-consuming than either East of Eden or The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck's longest novels.
The Satanic Verses is the fourth novel of British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie. First published in September 1988, the book was inspired by the life of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters. The title refers to the Satanic Verses, a group of Quranic verses about three pagan Meccan goddesses: Allāt, Al-Uzza, and Manāt. The part of the story that deals with the "satanic verses" was based on accounts from the historians al-Waqidi and al-Tabari.
Anthony John Soprano Sr. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the HBO crime drama television series The Sopranos, and portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the Italian-American Mafia and, especially later in the series, acts as the boss of the fictional North Jersey DiMeo crime family. Usually referred to as Tony, the character was conceived by Sopranos creator and showrunner David Chase, who was also largely responsible for the character's story arc throughout the show's six seasons. Gandolfini was ultimately cast in the role ahead of several other actors including Steven Van Zandt and Michael Rispoli. The character is loosely based on stories from and about an assortment of La Cosa Nostra figures and especially on real-life New Jersey mobsters Ruggerio "Richie the Boot" Boiardo, boss of the North Jersey Genovese crime family, and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, a former caporegime and de facto boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. Bobby Boriello and Mark Damiano II portrayed Tony Soprano as a child in one episode each, Danny Petrillo played the character as a teenager in three episodes, and James Gandolfini's son Michael Gandolfini portrayed a younger version of the character in the 2021 prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.
Corrado John "Junior" Soprano Jr., portrayed by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character from the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle June," he is the official boss of the DiMeo crime family for most of the series. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco Sisto. Corey Stoll portrays a young Junior Soprano in the 2021 prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark. Dominic Chianese's performance as Junior was universally lauded.
Jan Myrdal was a Swedish author known for his strident Maoist, anti-imperialist and contrarian views and heterodox and highly subjective style of autobiography.
Moses Hardy was, at age 112, the last surviving black veteran of World War I and one of the last surviving American veterans of that war. The son of former slaves, Hardy was born in 1894 and lived a religious and farming life until he signed up to serve overseas in World War I in July 1918. As an African American during the Jim Crow era, he served in the segregated 805th Pioneer Infantry, which was assigned a variety of manual labor and support tasks. Hardy himself served as a scout, supplying the front line troops when necessary. Though Hardy did experience combat, he was never seriously injured and rarely discussed his experiences concerning the fighting. Instead, he preferred to recount stories about the food, the bravery of the soldiers and the weather in France.
Shalimar the Clown is a 2005 novel by Salman Rushdie. The novel took Rushdie four years to write, and was initially published on 6 September 2005 by Jonathan Cape. Shalimar the Clown derives its name from Shalimar Gardens, in the vicinity of Srinagar. Srinagar is one of several Mughal Gardens, which were laid out in several parts of undivided India when the Mughals reigned over the subcontinent. Shalimar is also the name of one of the characters featured in the novel. Shalimar the Clown won the 2005 Vodafone Crossword Book Award and was one of the finalists for the 2005 Whitbread Book Awards.
Mr. Jones of Manor Farm is a fictional character in George Orwell's 1945 allegorical novel Animal Farm. Jones is an allegory for Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. Jones is overthrown by the animals of his farm, who represent Bolshevik and liberal revolutionaries.
The History of Love: A Novel is the 2005 novel by the American writer Nicole Krauss.The book was a 2006 finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction and won the 2008 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing for fiction.
The Satanic Verses controversy, also known as the Rushdie Affair, was a controversy sparked by the 1988 publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. It centered on the novel's references to the Satanic Verses of the Quran, and came to include a larger debate about censorship and religious violence. It included numerous killings, attempted killings, and bombings by perpetrators who supported Islam.
Grief is a novel by American author Andrew Holleran, published in 2006. The novel takes place in Washington D.C., following the personal journey of a middle-aged, gay man dealing with the death of his mother. The novel received the 2007 Stonewall Book Award.
Thomas Simpson was a Scottish Arctic explorer, Hudson's Bay Company fur trader, and cousin of Company Governor Sir George Simpson. He helped chart the northern coasts of Canada. He died by violence near the Turtle River while traveling through the wilderness in what is now the U.S. state of North Dakota but was then part of the Territory of Iowa. The circumstances of his final hours—in which he allegedly killed himself after gunning down two companions—have long been a subject of controversy.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North is the sixth novel by Richard Flanagan, and was the winner of the 2014 Booker Prize.
A God in Ruins is Kate Atkinson's ninth novel, published in 2015. The main character, Teddy Todd is the younger brother of Ursula Todd, the protagonist in Atkinson's 2013 novel, Life After Life. Atkinson calls it the "companion piece" rather than a sequel to the earlier novel. The first book spans half a century, including World War II; the second is set entirely within it. It won the Costa Book Award for Novel in 2015.
The 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French author Annie Ernaux "for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory". It was announced by the Swedish Academy on 6 October 2022. Ernaux was the 16th French writer – the first Frenchwoman – and the 17th female author, to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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