BUY IT HERE
Published by Serpent’s Tail

‘Cuts deep with a quiet intensity, articulating the muted edges of womanhood, the weight of grief, and the cost of becoming.’ ~ The Tribune

‘A darkly funny tale about the Indian diaspora’ ~ Avni Doshi, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of Burnt Sugar

Lina Solanki is pregnant and newly orphaned, living with her in-laws in their opulent Dubai villa. While her husband fails to make concrete plans to find their own place and tensions in their marriage grow, Lina’s boisterous mother-in-law interferes with every aspect of the pregnancy. Then, when proof of a horrifying family secret arrives from Mumbai, Lina realises that she has a choice when it comes to her baby, her marriage and her place in the world – but is it a choice she wants to make?

A bittersweet yet life-affirming debut revealing the intricacies of family life behind closed doors, Shape of an Apostrophe is a taboo-breaking exploration of motherhood, obedience, rebellion and the surprising persistence of love.

BUY THE NOVEL IN:
UK
USA
UAE
India
Singapore
Thailand
Australia

Features
Vogue ~ “6 Summer Reads to Pack in Your Suitcase”
Times of India ~ “What a woman desires, particularly in the context of procreation, has largely been deemed irrelevant.”
The Tribune ~ “Shape of an Apostrophe cuts deep with a quiet intensity, articulating the muted edges of womanhood, the weight of grief, and the cost of becoming.”
Platform ~ “In her searing and intimate debut novel Shape of an Apostrophe, Uttama Kirit Patel delivers a profound meditation on motherhood, womanhood, and the choices that define us or undo us.”
Wasafiri ~ “This is a novel rife with women’s secrets, the keeping of each one an act of survival; it is a heartbreaking exploration of the fierce entanglements of motherhood and personhood.”
LitHub ~ “The seemingly progressive families of the Indian diaspora are derailed by Lina’s maternal ambivalence. The story is set in Dubai, a place with limited reproductive rights and ample luxury, a contentious backdrop for where she is trapped by the narrow confines of convention.”
Hindustan Times ~ “Patel adopts a tone that is simultaneously humorous and tragic.”
The Crack ~ “Uttama Kirit Patel has embraced her inner Jane Austen for this tale…Shape of an Apostrophe is a fine exploration of womanhood in a world where men hold sway.”
Scroll.in ~ “At the heart of the novel is deep indignation about womanhood, and how all its extant meanings twist when questions of being a mother come into the picture.”
The New Indian Express ~ “Despite dealing with serious themes, the novel maintains humour in its dialogue.”
The Coaching Chapters (podcast)
Rippling Pages ~ Uttama Kirt Patel on Letters, Motherhood, and Mother-in-Laws (podcast)
Wild & Wise ~ Motherhood, Identity, & the Creative Process (video podcast)
A Pair of Bookends ~ Parenthood, Domestic Workers & Mother-in-Laws (podcast)

Events
Brighton Book Festival, UK – My body, your agenda
Carlyle & Co., Hong Kong – Defying domestic roles
Bookazine, Hong Kong – Book signing and Q&A
Book Bar, Singapore – Book discussion & Author meet
National Library, Singapore – Writing motherhood
Manorama Hortus Arts & Literature Festival, Kochi – Motherhood in Tension: Desire, Guilt and Autonomy
Debuts & Drafts; Delhi, Gurgaon & Mumbai – Authors in conversation
Emirates Festival of Literature – A Family Affair