Understanding Bharati Mukherjee

"Understanding Bharati Mukherjee offers a comprehensive analysis of the author and her oeuvre written in lucid prose accessible to all levels of readers... instructors will amass many classroom strategies from Maxey's thorough and thoughtful readings of individual texts. Understanding Bharati Mukherjee will be necessary reading for scholars studying Mukherjee, ethnic American literature, South Asian/diasporic fiction, and postcolonial literature for decades to come."—South Asian Review

"[A] comprehensive assessment of the whole of Mukherjee's oeuvre... What is unique about this well-written, detailed study is its attention to Mukherjee's less-known works of fiction and nonfiction. Scholars and students familiar with Mukherjee's work will find much to admire here. Maxey does not just assess Mukherjee's work—through close readings and nearly three decades of scholarship—she also breaks new ground, extending the ongoing conversation about this important writer's work in exciting new directions."—Choice

"[A] comprehensive introduction to and critical study of a pioneering South Asian American author written in an accessible style... [A] welcome addition to the already substantial body of scholarship on Mukherjee."—ariel: A Review of International English Literature

"Ruth Maxey's Understanding Bharati Mukherjee makes a timely, critical and distinctive contribution to the interpretation of this controversial and pioneering South Asian-American writer. It not only recuperates many neglected essays and short stories but explores Mukherjee's range of artistic strategies that are vital to an understanding of her work. Its wide-ranging scope and innovative approach will make this study a key point of reference for future scholars of postcolonial and contemporary American literary studies."—Ruvani Ranasinha, King's College London

"In this capacious engagement with Mukherjee's oeuvre, Ruth Maxey brilliantly navigates the canonical and popular appeal of the author's work. Maxey provides complex readings, beautifully unearthing compelling strategies for reading the paradoxical impulses in Mukherjee's fiction. Understanding Bharati Mukherjee is a must-read for the specialist and non-specialist reader alike."—Anita Mannur, Miami University

"Ruth Maxey's Understanding Bharati Mukherjee is a meticulously researched and elegantly written study of one of the pioneering women of South Asian American fiction. Maxey combines close reading and excavating many intertextual references from films and nineteenth- century British literature in Mukherjee's works along with a critical examination of her responses to feminism, national belonging, and immigration."—Lopamudra Basu, University of Wisconsin–Stout

2021 Choice Outstanding Academic Title