Indian Country

“Rao’s prose is so controlled it feels as if she’s drawing a masterly bow across violin strings… . Indian Country invites multiple readings to unlock its structure and logic, but it rewards its readers with alluring opportunities for darshan. The potential to glimpse divinity—even to contemplate a returned gaze—is worth the challenge.”—The New York Times Book Review

“If I have one critique, it’s the ending. I longed for another hundred pages to stay with these characters.”—Mishika, co-founder of Brown Girl Bookshelf

“[Indian Country] admirably undoes the conventions of the assimilation novel … A lyrical and propulsive story that makes the most of its double-edged title.”—Kirkus Review, starred review

“A triumph of plotting, pacing, and powerfully drawn characters that raises complex questions of morality, guilt, and salvation.”—Booklist, starred review

“Rao exhibits stunningly controlled prose throughout the book. Each sentence, particularly those in the historical vignettes, is exquisitely composed for maximum impact … [T]he violent history of colonialism to ongoing issues, like the disappearance and murder of Native women, to the bonds of sisterhood and the unpredictability of romantic relationships, opportunities to explore this richly hued novel feel as endless and expansive as the Montana horizon and as timeless as an ancient river.”—Bookreporter


Previous Praise for Shobha Rao

“Incandescent … A searing portrait of what feminism looks like in much of the world.”―Vogue

“Rao is a capable and confident writer, able to handle a vast and ambitious story line.”―The New York Times Book Review

“Skillfully rendered… . What’s most memorable about the novel, however, is the unadulterated, feminist voice.”―San Francisco Chronicle

“Unforgettable.”―Lit Hub

“Searing.”―The Chicago Review of Books

“Burns with intensity … [Rao] is clearly a writer of great ambition.”―USA Today

Shobha Rao moved to the United States from India at the age of seven. She is the author of the short story collection, An Unrestored Woman, and the novel, Girls Burn Brighter. Rao is the winner of the Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Fiction and was a Grace Paley Teaching Fellow at The New School. Her story “Kavitha and Mustafa” was chosen by T.C. Boyle for inclusion in Best American Short Stories. Girls Burn Brighter was long listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize and was a finalist for the California Book Award and the Goodreads Choice Awards. She lives in San Francisco.

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