Indian Tango

Fiction. Translated from the French by Jean Anderson. INDIAN TANGO, published in French in 2007, is set in Delhi in 2004, against a background of monsoon rains and the general election that would see Sonia Gandhi briefly head a coalition government. A visiting writer becomes obsessed by Subhadra, a woman glimpsed on the street, and as this unconventional relationship develops, the cost of pursuing passion and desire in a vibrant but deeply conservative society comes into sharp focus. A sometimes bitter, always moving meditation on the limitations placed on women's (and others') lives by convention builds inexorably to a powerful and stunning conclusion.

Ananda Devi was born in Mauritius in 1957. The multicultural and multilingual aspects of her birthplace are echoed in many of her works, which explore with lyrical and probing language and imagery the depths of conflicted identities, with a particular focus on women and the consequences of nonconformity. One of the Indian Ocean's leading and most prolific writers, she has published poetry, three volumes of short stories and ten novels. Ève de ses décombres (2006) was awarded the Prix des Cinq Continents de la francophonie and the Prix RFO.