THE PARCEL

The beloved and bestselling Canadian author's first novel in six years, and his best yet, this powerful new work about a transgender sex worker in the red-light district of Bombay who is given an unexpected task is a gripping literary page-turner—difficult and moving, surprising and tender (a lead title for Knopf Canada)

The Parcel's astonishing heart, soul and unforgettable voice is Madhu—born a boy, but made a eunuch—who has spent most of her life in a close-knit clan of transgender sex workers in Kamathipura, the notorious red-light district of Bombay. Madhu has identified for years as a “hijra”—a person belonging to the third sex: neither here nor there, neither man nor woman. Now, at forty, she has moved away from prostitution, her trade since her teens, and taken up begging to support the leader of the hijras, Gurumai. One day Madhu receives a call from Padma Madam, the most feared brothel owner in the district: A “parcel” has arrived—a ten-year-old girl from the provinces, betrayed and sold by her aunt—and Madhu needs to prepare it for its fate. Despite Madhu's reluctance, she is forced to take the job by Gurumai. As Madhu's emotions spiral out of control, her past comes back to haunt her, threatening to unravel a lifetime's work and identity.

This is a dark, devastating, but incandescent novel that promises to be one of the most talked about publications of the year. The first novel in six years from a beloved and bestselling Canadian author whose previous work has been shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize and Canada Reads, and has sold to publishers around the world.

ANOSH IRANI has published three critically acclaimed novels: The Cripple and His Talismans (2004), a national bestseller; The Song of Kahunsha (2006), which was an international bestseller and shortlisted for Canada Reads and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize; and Dahanu Road (2010) which was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. His play, Bombay Black, won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play (2006) and his anthology, The Bombay Plays: The Matka King & Bombay Black (2007) was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. Anosh lives in Vancouver.