Marriage of a Thousand Lies

Winner of the ​Publishing Triangle Edmund White Debut Fiction AwardAn ALA Stonewall Honor Book Finalist for the Lambda Literary Award Independent Publisher Book Awards Silver Medalist for LGBT+ Fiction Longlisted for the DSC Prize for South Asian LiteraturePraise for Marriage of a Thousand Lies“What a gorgeous, heartbreaking novel … How Lucky tries to free herself from a life of lies is an incredibly compelling tale.”—Roxane Gay“A remarkable novel rich with interlocking issues both timeless and timely. SJ Sindu’s debut is more than impressive; it’s important.”—Robert Olen Butler, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain“I love Lucky, the unforgettable narrator of Marriage of a Thousand Lies. She has taken a place among my favorite misfits in literature, a young woman longing for love and tradition and celebration and family even as she defies expectations and navigates her own paths. I’m especially captivated by the novel’s honesty and tenderness—SJ Sindu is an intuitive writer with great insights into the complications of love and friendship.”—Timothy Schaffert, author of The Swan Gondola“SJ Sindu has written an important novel about Sri Lankan immigrant culture. Here, the intersections of migration, sexuality and culture are explored in loving and heartbreaking detail. A book that reveals the secrets of a community caught between East and West.”—Nayomi Munaweera, author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors“E​ntertaining​.”​​ —The Toronto Star​ “Enthralling … Sindu is a skilled writer, and this is a remarkable first novel.”—Los Angeles Review of Books ​ “Sindu’s heart-wrenching debut novel … incorporates love, loss, family, rebirth and growth to tell a captivating story you won’t be able to put down.”—Ms. Magazine“Marriage of a Thousand Lies is a rare book, written from a queer, South Asian perspective, but a welcome addition to an all-too-small canon.​”—Houston Press​ “[Sindu] ​has written a debut novel that is honest and moving—a complex story about a Sri-Lankan family and a strong female protagonist who struggles with her own identity against a backdrop of deep traditions and community.”—Tallahassee Democrat​ ​“Dazzling.”—Bay Area Reporter“Sindu handles the complexities of identity beautifully.”—Minnesota Public Radio“Marriage of a Thousand Lies is a fascinating work.​”—​Paste Magazine “S​indu takes on the conflict between love of family and of oneself with clarity and laughs.”—NOW Magazine“A well-written debut … brings to light the layers of struggles that shape our decisions on how we choose to live our lives.”—BookTrib​​​“Marriage of a Thousand Lies is a beautiful exploration of queer South Asian-American identity​. With both a compelling plot and a beautifully crafted cast of characters, this novel is a must-read.​”—Lambda Literary ​ “So good … heartbreaking in the way it portrayed the characters torn between happiness and custom. ​SJ ​Sindu does a beautiful job describing how Lucky feels about living a secret life and her fear of disappointing her parents, and the language and imagery is gorgeous.”—BookRiot​“[A] perceptive, subtle, and provocative first novel. Sindu’s characters are all believably complicated and compassionately observed, and she anchors the central tension between individuality and ties to family in concrete scenes from Lucky’s life. The author’s quirky sense of humor and matter-of-fact take on a potentially fraught situation keep the tone of the novel deceptively light, resulting in a moving and memorable story.”—Publishers Weekly “SJ Sindu’s fine debut [is] a timely tale with themes of immigration, free will, identity, and personal choice.”—​Booklist​ “A​n important intervention in the canons of both LGBTQ and South Asian literature. Marriage of a Thousand Lies is not only important: it’s also a beautiful book, with fresh, tidy prose, and complex, flawed characters, a novel that is at once sad and hopeful.​”—Autostraddle “A powerful critique of marriage, tradition and religion.”—Gaysi “Marriage of a Thousand Lies is a deeply affecting work in many ways.​”—The Aerogram ​ “​A​ poignant, heart-warming love story.”—Youth Ki Awaaz​

SJ Sindu is a Tamil diaspora author of two literary novels, two hybrid chapbooks, and two forthcoming graphic novels. Sindu’s first novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies,won the Publishing Triangle Edmund White Award and the second novel, Blue-Skinned Gods, is currently a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Sindu’s newest work is the hybrid chapbook titled Dominant Genes. Sindu holds a PhD in English and Creative Writing from Florida State University and teaches at the University of Toronto Scarborough. More at sjsindu.com or @sjsindu on Twitter/Instagram.

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