Padma Viswanathan to Launch Novel at Fayetteville Public Library

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Padma Viswanathan

Assistant professor of creative writing Padma Viswanathan will present the U.S. launch of her critically acclaimed novel The Ever After of Ashwin Rao at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, at the Fayetteville Public Library. Originally published in Viswanathan's native Canada, the novel was a finalist for Canada's most prestigious literary award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize.

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao follows an Indian psychologist as he investigates the fatal bombing of an Air India plane from Vancouver, 20 years after its fateful flight. His intent is to create a "study of comparative grief," but his interest is more emotionally complex than he would lead his subjects to believe. Basing her book on the real history of Air India Flight 182, Viswanathan weaves together fact and fiction to explore the generational disconnect within immigrant families, the psychology of emotional trauma, and the politics of violence in a post-9/11 world.

Published in the U.S. by Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint, the June 2015 release of the novel coincides with the 30th anniversary of the terrorist attack that brought down flight 182 on June 23, 1985. This is Viswanathan's second novel. Her first, The Toss of a Lemon, received glowing praise from the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post, and was shortlisted for the 2009 PEN Center USA Fiction Award.

In addition to reading from the book on Wednesday, Viswanathan will share insights about the creative process. Copies of the book will be available for sale, and a signing will follow. The event is free, and all are welcome to attend.