The award-winning and bestselling author Shyam Selvadurai discusses his new novel Mansions of the Moon (Knopf, 2022), with Joseph Planta.

Mansions of the Moon by Shyam Selvadurai (Knopf, 2022). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Mansions of the Moon

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

Shyam Selvadurai joins me again. The bestselling and award-winning author has just published a new novel, Mansions of the Moon. It’s getting great notices for its immersive, sweeping, yet intimate story of Yasodhara, the woman who married the Buddha. The book traces the couple’s early love and life together, and then we see Siddhartha, who would later become the Buddha, as he becomes enlightened and how he abandons Yasodhara. The ramifications of that, a woman whose husband has abandoned her, are stark, and looked at as Mr. Selvadurai weaves his tale with insight and empathy. Shyam Selvadurai is the author of the 1994 Giller Prize shortlisted Funny Boy, which was a national bestseller, and winner of the W. H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and the Lambda Literary Award. It was made into a 2020 film directed by Deepa Mehta. His second book Cinnamon Gardens was shortlisted for the Trillium Award, and his third, The Hungry Ghosts, which he was first on this program with in 2013, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award. His acclaimed novel for young adults, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea was also shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Visit www.shyamselvadurai.com for more information. This new book is published by Knopf Canada. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Shyam Selvadurai; Mr. Selvadurai, good morning.

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