Gurnaik Johal
Gurnaik Johal tells Take Four Books about his debut novel, Saraswati, and the three literary works that inspired its creation.
Take Four Books speaks to writer Gurnaik Johal about his debut novel ‘Saraswati’, a tale about a holy river that appears to resurface in modern-day India. The story begins with Satnam, a man living in Wolverhampton, whose life becomes entangled in the unfolding events. His journey leads him to discover six distant relatives scattered across the world, all drawn together in a rapidly changing India.
‘Saraswati’ was shortlisted for this year’s Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize. The three books that influenced Gurnaik’s novel are: The Great Derangement by Amitav Ghosh; Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad; and Postcolonial Love Poem by Natalie Diaz.
The supporting contributor is multi-award-winning writer, Professor of World Literature and Creative Writing at Newcastle University, and ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ New Generation Thinker, Preti Taneja.
Producer: Rachael O’Neill
Editor: Gillian Wheelan
This was a ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Audio Scotland production.
On radio
Broadcasts
- Sunday 16:00ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
- Sun 27 Jul 2025 00:15ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Radio 4
Podcast
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Take Four Books
James Crawford discusses an author's new book and its connections to three other works.
