Tomb of Sand, written by Geetanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell, is the winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize for Translated Fiction.

The book was initially published in 2018 under the title Ret Samadhi, in the New Delhi-based author’s native Hindi language.

The story traces the transformative journey of 80-year-old Ma who slips into depression after the death of her husband. Much to the consternation of her family, she decides to travel to Pakistan to confront the trauma she experienced as a teenager during the 1947 Partition riots.

Along the way, Ma strikes up friendships with unlikely characters — which confounds her bohemian daughter-in-law, who believes herself to be the more modern of the two women.

Despite its serious theme, Tomb of Sand has been called “playful” and “utterly original” thanks to its “exuberant wordplay.”

In addition to winning the Booker, the French translation was shortlisted for the 2021 Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature.

Published in Dawn, Books & Authors, June 12th, 2022