Chef

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'A fascinating, kaleidoscopic journey through one of the most beautiful yet besieged areas in the world - Jaspreet Singh brings out the full poetry and heartbreak of Kashmir' - Manil Suri

'The disputed region of Kashmir forms the elegiac backdrop to an episodic, image- rich work' - Guardian

'Extraordinary ... Chef is an elegant, angry novel ... worthy to stand among the finest of Indian writing, while also being different' - Irish Times

‘Singh writes of a beautiful place that dances on the razor wire of India and Pakistan's disputed border. His prose redefines an exhausted situation, giving it new light' - The Times

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Shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Prize for Best Book and nominated for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

Kip Singh watches India pass by his window on the slow train to Kashmir. Timorous and barely twenty, Kip arrives for the first time at General Kumar's camp and is placed under the supervision of Chef Kishen, a fiery, anarchic mentor who guides him towards the heady spheres of food and women.

Though he is Sikh, Kip feels secure in his rightful allegiance to India, the right side of this interminable conflict. But when he comes across a Pakistani ‘terrorist' with long, flowing hair, swept up on the banks of the river, everything changes... Mesmeric and lyrical, Chef is a story of hope, love and memory.