About Raj
Rajorshi Chakraborti is an Indian-born novelist, essayist, children’s author and short story writer. He was born in 1977 in Kolkata, and grew up there and in Mumbai. He has also lived and studied in Canada, England and Scotland, and now lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand.
Raj is the author of six novels, a collection of short fiction, and most recently, a children’s book co-written with his daughter, Leela. Raj’s books have been published in India, New Zealand, Australia, the US and Spain. Or the Day Seizes You was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award in India in 2006. Mumbai Rollercoaster received an honourable mention in the Children's Writing category of the Crossword Book Awards, 2011. The Man Who Would Not See was longlisted in the fiction section of the 2019 Ockham Awards in New Zealand. Shakti, Raj's last novel, was longlisted in 2021 in the Best Novel category of the Ngaio Marsh Awards in New Zealand.
From Reviews of Raj’s Books:
“Among the most distinctive Indian English novelists of his generation” - Time Out, India
“He revels in the kind of noir-ish realism which works brilliantly for a Murakami or an Auster, while sharing their predilection for the surreal” - The Sunday Guardian, India
“Chakraborti possesses the gift of good storytelling.” - The Telegraph, India
“His writing continues to provide haunting narratives that ask pressing moral questions about how perception affects the human condition and how past events can change people.” - Nelson Mail, NZ
“[Chakraborti] will fascinate readers who enjoy Haruki Murakami.” – Booklist, USA
"Far, far too often people compare writers to other, more famous writers but it’s true that Raj is like Haruki Murakami, like Paul Auster, like Aravind Adiga, like peak Tom Wolfe. And he’s ours! (As in, NZ’s.) I think he’s a truly great novelist, full stop. A master of tone and plot and character who keeps it cool and surprising as well as full of feeling, pace and intensity." - Claire Murdoch, Head of Publishing, Penguin Random House (NZ)