LoveReading Says
LoveReading Says
A wonderfully provocative and emotionally beautiful read, where for one family, whether or not destiny exists becomes incredibly significant. We see snapshots in time, of compelling and expressive moments for Mukesh, Neha, Rakesh and Ba. Set in different time frames, and not told sequentially, we begin to see how events from the past create our future, yet is it destiny or free will that shape our movements, our decisions? Nikesh Shukla writes with a wonderfully light touch, yet he hits with hammer hard intensity. I laughed, I cried, I wondered at people’s propensity to hate, to fear, for violence. Each family member is so clearly and individually expressed, I particularly enjoyed getting to know Raks through the eyes of others, it actually made me feel more of a connection with him, for him. Poignant and stimulating, The One Who Wrote Destiny has an immense subtlety, the words dance across the page, before rising up from an unexpected direction to challenge thoughts and feelings - highly recommended.
Liz Robinson
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The One Who Wrote Destiny Synopsis
Mukesh has just moved from Kenya to the drizzly northern town of Keighley. He was expecting fame, fortune, the Rolling Stones and a nice girl, not poverty, loneliness and racism. Still, he might not have found Keith Richards, but he did find the girl.Neha is dying. Lung cancer, a genetic gift from her mother and an invocation to forge a better relationship with her brother and her widowed father before it's too late. The problem is, her brother is an unfunny comedian and her idiot father is a first-generation immigrant who moved to Keighley of all places.Rakesh is grieving. He lost his mother and his sister to the same illness, and his career as a comedian is flat-lining. Sure, his sister would have claimed that it was because he was simply unfunny, but he can't help feel that there is more to it than that - more to do with who he is and where he comes from rather than the content of his jokes.Ba has never looked after her two young grandchildren before. After her daughter died, her useless son-in-law dumped them on her doorstep for a month and now she has to try and work out how to bond with two children who are used England, not to the rhythms of Kenya...
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Press Reviews
Nikesh Shukla Press Reviews
Like Douglas Coupland's Generation X, this novel captures a cultural moment. Guardian on Meatspace
An anarchic, self-involved and admirably honest portrait of a bookish life lived in the brave new digital world. New Statesman on Meatspace
Buzzing with streetwise smarts and satirical barbs, it's a thoughtful, often hilarious, meditation on a young writer's loneliness in the digital age Independent on Sunday on Meatspace
Meatspace is funny. Damn funny. You should really switch off your computer and read it. -- Matt Haig Author of 'The Humans on Meatspace'
Meatspace is, simply, one of the finest novels I have ever read about modern life and modern living. Douglas Coupland, Junot Diaz, Chuck Palahniuk and Jennifer Egan: stick them in a blendr, and out comes this amazing new novel by one of the UK's most distinct voices. -- James Smythe, Author of 'The Machine on Meatspace'
Author
About Nikesh Shukla
Nikesh Shukla is a London-based author, filmmaker and poet. His writing has featured on BBC2, BBC Radio 1 and 4, BBC Asian Network and Resonance FM. He has performed at Royal Festival Hall, Book Club Boutique, Soho Theatre, The Big Chill, Rise Festival and Glastonbury. He is currently working on a sitcom for Channel 4.
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