Roychowdhury's Debut Novel, The Distance, Journeys Through Traditional Culture Differences, Life, Love

September 27, 2014 (PRLEAP.COM) Entertainment News
September 27, 2014 - In an incredibly ambitious debut, Saborna Roychowdhury's novel, The Distance, tackles a story of India's growing pains as told through the life experiences of a young woman struggling to find love and purpose.

Masterfully described through Roychowdhury's rich detail and illuminating dialogue, The Distance (Istoria Books) transports the reader on a journey through the places, situations and feelings of a young Indian woman torn between the tradition-bound India of her grandmother and the new, striving country of her peers.

Roychowdhury's debut smoothly incorporates the countless facets of modern India, with an abundance of cultural references neatly packed in one dynamic story

Immediate praise for The Distance is highlighted by:
  • A starred review in Publishers Weekly, which commented, "Through Roychowdhury's rich detail and illuminating dialogue emerges a protagonist who is caught in a love triangle and the conflict between rigid traditions and western freedoms."
  • South Asian Review, which applauded, "Roychowdhury addresses the perennial questions facing contemporary Indian women in her first novel, The Distance, and offers some surprising answers. Ultimately this novel offers not a love triangle but a love letter to India itself."

    The Distance ($11.69 Amazon paperback; $4.99 Amazon Kindle) is about a young college student, Mini, searching for love and meaning in gritty Calcutta. Attracted at first to an exciting, idealistic rebel whose risky attempts to help his countrymen fill her with admiration, Mini eventually realizes his arrogant ambition and unwillingness to see beyond his own personal passions. When her parents begin the traditional practice of arranging her marriage, Mini doesn't resist. With her new husband, Neel, she moves to Vancouver, discovering all the wonders of life in a developed country. Material comfort only makes her yearn with ever-growing intensity for the things she has left behind, and when she returns to her native land five years later, she becomes acutely aware of the distance between dreams and reality, longing and fulfillment, love and sacrifice.

    About Saborna Roychowdhury:
    Saborna Roychowdhury was born and raised in Calcutta, India, and moved to the U.S. for her undergraduate work in chemistry. A Pushcart Prize nominee, her short fiction has appeared in New York Stories, Quality Women's Fiction (U.K.), The Four Quarters Magazine, and Earthen Lamp Journal. She is a contributing writer to Chillibreeze, Hilltown Families, TheWeekendLeader.com, and other online magazines. Saborna lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and twins and teaches at Lone Star College. Additional information about The Distance and Saborna Roychowdhury is available on her Website and she shares daily interactions with her readers, other authors and friends on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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