Kiran Desai Discusses Her Booker-Shortlisted Novel at Jaipur Literature Festival

At the Jaipur Literature Festival, author Kiran Desai discussed her Booker Prize 2025 shortlisted novel, The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, which took nearly two decades to complete. She described writing as a disciplined daily practice and highlighted themes of loneliness beyond romance, including social and national divides. A passage depicting a veranda in Allahabad, linked to her grandparents, was noted as central to the novel’s imagery, reflecting her enduring connection to India despite living abroad.