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Samrat Upadhyay

サムラート・ウパディヤーイ

Samrat Upadhyay

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1964-01-01 （Kathmandu, Nepal）
Nationality
Nepalese, American
Languages
English
Religion
Hinduism
Residence History
Kathmandu, Nepal → Berea, Ohio, United States → Bloomington, Indiana, United States

Career

Occupations
novelist, short story writer, professor
Active Years
1984-
Affiliations
Indiana University Bloomington, Baldwin Wallace University
Influenced By
Anton Chekhov (noted comparison)

Awards

Whiting Award
2001
Organization: The Whiting Foundation
Result: Winner
Kiriyama Prize
2004
Work: The Guru of Love
Category: Fiction
Organization: Kiriyama Prize
Result: Finalist
Society of Midland Authors Award for Adult Fiction
2007
Work: The Royal Ghosts
Organization: Society of Midland Authors
Result: Winner
DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
2012
Work: Buddha's Orphans
Organization: DSC Prize
Result: Longlist
Aspen Words Literary Prize
2018
Work: Mad Country
Organization: Aspen Words
Result: Shortlist
PEN Open Book Award
2015
Work: The City Son
Organization: PEN America
Result: Shortlist

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Arresting God in Kathmandu

2001 short story collection 208 pages

A debut collection of nine short stories portraying urban life in Nepal, focusing on family, desire, religion, and the tensions of modernization.

familyurban lifereligion and modernization

The Guru of Love

2003 novel 320 pages

His first full-length novel exploring love, ethics, and family relationships in Nepal; named a New York Times Notable Book of 2003.

love and ethicsfamily complexitiestradition and change

The Royal Ghosts

2006 short story collection 224 pages

A collection of nine short stories dealing with power, memory, family histories, and individual narratives.

memorypower and classfamily tensions

Buddha's Orphans

2010 novel 320 pages

A multi-generational novel set against Nepal's political upheavals, following an orphan boy, Raja, and his love Nilu across time and geography, exploring loss and search for family.

generationsloss and renewalsocial upheaval

The City Son

2014 short story collection 176 pages

A collection of stories about people living in the city, weaving themes of immigration, family, and the effects of urbanization.

immigrationurbanizationfamily

Mad Country

2017 short story collection 240 pages

A short story collection set in contemporary Nepal where politics and personal lives collide.

political turmoilindividual choicesocial change

Bibliography

  • Arresting God in Kathmandu (2001)
  • The Guru of Love (2003)
  • The Royal Ghosts (2006)
  • Buddha's Orphans (2010)
  • The City Son (2014)
  • Mad Country (2017)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realist fictionconcise observational prosesubtle interior characterization
Recurring Motifs
family ties and rupturesmigration and diasporareligion in daily liferural/urban contrast

Legacy

Samrat Upadhyay is one of the first Nepal-born writers writing in English to gain recognition in the West. He is internationally respected for his sensitive portrayals of Nepalese society and individuals and is regarded as a pioneer in bringing contemporary Nepali literature to English-speaking audiences.

Quotes

  • The San Francisco Chronicle described him as "like a Buddhist Chekhov."
    Source: San Francisco Chronicle (review) (2001)

Trivia

  • Considered one of the first Nepal-born writers writing in English to be published in the West.
  • Won the Whiting Award in 2001.
  • Has served as a creative writing professor at Indiana University.