Heat and Dust
0-7195-3401-1
Heat and Dust (1975) is a novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that won the Booker Prize in 1975. The book was also ranked by The Telegraph in 2014 as one of the 10 all-time greatest Asian novels.[1]
Plot summary
The initial stages of the novel are told in the first person, from the narrative voice of a woman who travels to India, to find out more about her step-grandmother, Olivia. She has various letters written by Olivia, and through reading these, and learning from her own experiences in India, she uncovers the truth about Olivia and her life during the British Raj in the 1920s.
Through the use of flashbacks, the reader experiences the story from Olivia's point of view. We discover that Olivia, although at first glance she seems simply to be a proper Englishwoman, is actually smothered by British social restrictions, and longs for excitement. She meets the Nawab, who instantly charms her, and gradually lets her into his life. Olivia is drawn to the charm and charisma of the Nawab, and he slowly gains control over her, as he does with other characters such as Harry. Harry is portrayed as weak due to his homosexuality and inability to withstand the Indian climate and food.
Olivia eventually becomes pregnant with the Nawab's baby, and out of fear decides to abort the child. This causes scandal in the town of Satipur. She then resides in an unnamed town ("Town X") for her remaining years. The novel ends with the present-day narrator (whose name is not mentioned) also becoming pregnant, deciding to spend her years in Town X, just as Olivia did.
Awards
- 1975: Booker Prize
Film
The novel was made into a film of the same name in 1983 by Merchant Ivory Productions. It was an award-winning film, with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based upon her novel, directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant.
References
- ^ "10 best Asian novels of all time". The Telegraph. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
External links
- Summary from Merchant Ivory website
- Booker Prize Winners
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- List of winners and nominated authors
- The Best of the Booker
- The Golden Man Booker
- International Booker Prize
- 1969: P. H. Newby (Something to Answer For)
- 1970: Bernice Rubens (The Elected Member)
- 1970 Lost Prize: J. G. Farrell (Troubles)
- 1971: V. S. Naipaul (In a Free State)
- 1972: John Berger (G.)
- 1973: J. G. Farrell (The Siege of Krishnapur)
- 1974: Nadine Gordimer (The Conservationist) and Stanley Middleton (Holiday)
- 1975: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Heat and Dust)
- 1976: David Storey (Saville)
- 1977: Paul Scott (Staying On)
- 1978: Iris Murdoch (The Sea, The Sea)
- 1979: Penelope Fitzgerald (Offshore)
- 1980: William Golding (Rites of Passage)
- 1981: Salman Rushdie (Midnight's Children)
- 1982: Thomas Keneally (Schindler's Ark)
- 1983: J. M. Coetzee (Life & Times of Michael K)
- 1984: Anita Brookner (Hotel du Lac)
- 1985: Keri Hulme (The Bone People)
- 1986: Kingsley Amis (The Old Devils)
- 1987: Penelope Lively (Moon Tiger)
- 1988: Peter Carey (Oscar and Lucinda)
- 1989: Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day)
- 1990: A. S. Byatt (Possession)
- 1991: Ben Okri (The Famished Road)
- 1992: Michael Ondaatje (The English Patient) and Barry Unsworth (Sacred Hunger)
- 1993: Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha)
- 1994: James Kelman (How Late It Was, How Late)
- 1995: Pat Barker (The Ghost Road)
- 1996: Graham Swift (Last Orders)
- 1997: Arundhati Roy (The God of Small Things)
- 1998: Ian McEwan (Amsterdam)
- 1999: J. M. Coetzee (Disgrace)
- 2000: Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin)
- 2001: Peter Carey (True History of the Kelly Gang)
- 2002: Yann Martel (Life of Pi)
- 2003: DBC Pierre (Vernon God Little)
- 2004: Alan Hollinghurst (The Line of Beauty)
- 2005: John Banville (The Sea)
- 2006: Kiran Desai (The Inheritance of Loss)
- 2007: Anne Enright (The Gathering)
- 2008: Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger)
- 2009: Hilary Mantel (Wolf Hall)
- 2010: Howard Jacobson (The Finkler Question)
- 2011: Julian Barnes (The Sense of an Ending)
- 2012: Hilary Mantel (Bring Up the Bodies)
- 2013: Eleanor Catton (The Luminaries)
- 2014: Richard Flanagan (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)
- 2015: Marlon James (A Brief History of Seven Killings)
- 2016: Paul Beatty (The Sellout)
- 2017: George Saunders (Lincoln in the Bardo)
- 2018: Anna Burns (Milkman)
- 2019: Margaret Atwood (The Testaments) and Bernardine Evaristo (Girl, Woman, Other)
- 2020: Douglas Stuart (Shuggie Bain)
- 2021: Damon Galgut (The Promise)
- 2022: Shehan Karunatilaka (The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida)
- 2023: Paul Lynch (Prophet Song)
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