A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 at The MIllions and Ms. Magazine
An NPR Book of the day
On GQ INDIA'S BEST FICTION LIST 2021
shortlisted for Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize 2021
Shortlisted for shetHEPeople.com women writers’ Prize 2021
mirror made of rain
by naheed phiroze patel
Mirror Made of Rain offers a riveting exploration of class and tradition in contemporary India, following the life of Noomi Wadia, a funny, impulsive, and sharply observant heroine for our modern times. When we first meet her, Noomi is loathe to change her hard-partying ways simply because it’s what’s expected in Kamalpur high society. As quick-witted as she is quick-tempered, Noomi’s social obligations become increasingly fraught as she resists the pressures to marry and start a family of her own. Under constant scrutiny from her peers, and with her mother’s worsening alcoholism putting a strain on things at home, Noomi leaves for Bombay to work as a reporter. Noomi’s independence is interrupted when she falls for Veer—a hard-working consultant from a conventionally upper middle-class background who nevertheless appreciates her for exactly who she is. Joining him in New Delhi (and his judgmental, social-climbing family), Noomi is forced to observe patriarchal and restrictive customs, as the world she rejected threatens to overtake her once again. As Veer and Noomi’s future is threatened by the realities of conventional life, Noomi realizes that her worst fears have come to pass—she is trapped in the same cycle of self-destructiveness as her mother, and she must battle her impulses or risk losing it all. Spanning several years of Noomi’s life, Naheed Phiroze Patel’s exhilarating debut novel unravels how society determines self-image and asks if we can ever break free from expectations, when survival is often contingent on compromise.
"The writing is sharp, beautiful, very evocative. The characters pop off the page and are instantly recognizable. Noomi is so achingly human and alive.”
— Brandon Taylor, author of REAL LIFE and FILTHY ANIMALS
"MIRROR MADE OF RAIN is luminous — a blistering and unflinching commentary on family, love, pain, addiction and destruction. We are lucky to have Naheed Phiroze Patel writing."
— Diksha Basu, author of THE WINDFALL and DESTINATION WEDDING
“The writing is smart, playful, broad in its frame of reference, political without being pedantic. The parties are horrifying and endlessly fascinating. Patel is an incredibly talented writer.”
— Victor LaValle, author of THE CHANGELING
“I fell in love with Noomi and rooted for her all the way through."
— Susan Bernofsky author of CLAIRVOYANT OF THE SMALL: THE LIFE OF ROBERT WALSER
"A piercing, glittering reflection on familial trauma and addiction, Patel's writing is sharp as the shards of a smashed mirror.”
—Doireann Ní Ghríofa, Author of A GHOST IN THE THROAT
“Full of vibrant observational details and humor. The cast of main characters Patel has pulled together is maddeningly true to life."
—Elissa Schappell, author of BLUEPRINTS FOR BUILDING BETTER GIRLS
Naheed phiroze patel
Naheed Phiroze Patel is a graduate of the MFA program at Columbia University’s School of the Arts. Her writing has appeared in the New England Review, The Guardian, HuffPost, Scroll.in, BOMB Magazine, Public Books, PEN America, The Rumpus, EuropeNow Journal, Asymptote Journal and elsewhere.
reviews
“A personal, empathetic view on mothers who society has deemed ‘failures’”
— NPR
“a dark, moody, brooding novel that explores the fissures of family with delicacy and conviction”
— Los Angeles Review of Books
“a stunning novel of growth, reconciliation, and the power of learning to see ourselves through our own eyes.”
— Buzzfeed
“Patel’s gut-wrenching debut offers a looking glass into the luxurious homes of Indian high society...”
— Publishers weekly
“A Graceful descriptive style”
— Kirkus Reviews
“An Immersive debut”
— Ms. Magazine
"Patel goes into the heart of the ways in which trauma can often shape and surprise us."
— Gq india
"The beauty of Patel's prose resides in [...] how small details resonate with readers removed from India, but still angered by the cultural and social focus on female purity, goodness and politeness over other indicators of well being."
— The Wire
"[patel] Explores themes surrounding self-destruction, relationships, love and mental illness, imbuing them with sharp detail."
- THE CARAVAN MAGAZINE
"Patel writes one of the first female Indian protagonists to reckon with alcoholism. She does not flip gender on its head so much as send it tumbling."
- scroll
“[Patel] is a writer with a keenly discriminating and distancing eye when it comes to gender bias in the upper echeleons of society and the violence transmitted by the most innocuous seeming acts”
- financial express
“patel’s attempts at portraying the indian upper middle class are astute, and [the novel] depicts the tyranny of patriarchal structures so deeply ingrained across class and religious beliefs.”
- the kathmandu post
Contact
For world literary, film and television rights excluding South Asia
Julia Kardon | HG Literary
For South Asia literary, film and television rights
Kanishka Gupta | Writer's Side
www.litagentkanishka.com/contact/