[ book tip by Walter Grond ] The Berliner Künstlerprogramm of DAAD writes about Atlaf Tyerwalas novel:

Homesickness led this young Indian author to literature: born in 1977 in Mumbai (until today known by its Old Colonial name: Bombay), Altaf Tyrewala lived in New York City from 1995 to 1999. He studied business economics at Baruch College and earned a meager living doing part-time jobs like his work for a call center. For him, this city became synonymous with “hunger, coldness, and backbreaking work,” and while living here he harbored an intense craving for his homeland – assuaged by reading novelists such as Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy, and Rohinton Mistry before finally returning to Mumbai. It had only been a small step from reading to writing. Then Altaf Tyrewala worked as a software specialist and published a few short stories in his spare time. Beginning in 2002, he concentrated on his first novel, "No God in Sight", which was published in 2005. It met with great praise in India, but also worldwide. Among other events, Tyrewala was invited to the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair, when India was the fair’s official Guest of Honor.  ... read more

[ book info ] Tyrewala, Altaf : No God in Sight. (Book language: English) MacAdam/Cage, San Francisco, 2006 . ISBN: 978-1596921948.