A poignant, funny, blazingly original debut novel about sisterhood, the tantalizing dream of America, and the secret histories and hilarious eccentricities of families everywhere.

When seventeen-year old Anju wins a full scholarship to study in New York City for a year, she jumps at the chance to leave her home in Kerala—in southern India—even though it means betraying her older sister, Linno.  A social outcast and gifted artist, Linno resigns herself to painting advertisements in shop windows for the rest of her life, haunted by old memories of their mother’s mysterious death.  But soon after Anju arrives in New York, she goes missing, leaving Linno to strike out on an unusual journey of her own to find her vanished sister.With exuberance and compassion, Tania James once again draws us into the lives of damaged, driven, and beautifully complicated characters who quietly strive for human connection.

Praise & REviews

“Once in a while, a novel comes along that makes you wonder why people don’t read more fiction–why, given the right book, anyone would choose to do anything else. Atlas of Unknowns, the dazzling, original and deeply absorbing debut by Tania James, is this rare book…”
–San Francisco Chronicle READ THE FULL REVIEW

“Not your standard growing-up-in-India story…James has concocted a charming seriocomic blend of individuals, cultures and expectations in which every component retains its individuality.”
–The Star-Ledger (Newark)

“Delightful… James writes with poise, sly humor, and an acuity both cultural and sensuous…The characters’ love for one other radiates off the page.”
–The New York Times Book Review READ THE FULL REVIEW

“As spectacular a debut as any author could hope for…With keen insight and seminal prose James has fashioned a Bildungsroman of a family saga… The breadth and depth of Atlas of Unknowns indicates that its author is as wise beyond her years as she is gifted.”
–The Courier-Journal

“James’ incandescent debut novel is a skillfully nuanced examination of the immigrant experience from the perspectives of those who leave and those who are left behind…James writes with a silken elegance and solid assurance that will garner inevitable comparisons to Jhumpa Lahiri, accolades that are both apt and well-deserved.”
–Booklist

“Share this book with your mother, your sister, your friend—they will thank you for it.”
–Hannah Tinti

“Tania James acutely charts the shifting sands of the siblings’ relationship – supportive, rivialrous, loyal and loving – with tender compassion…This delightful debut is an insightful study of leave-taking and homecoming.”
–Daily Mail (London)

“One of the most engaging literary reads of the year”
–Business World

“Warm, beguiling, refreshingly smart…Broadly speaking, [Atlas] concerns the interweaving of globalization and desire — how channels of love and longing bend (or break) when forced into the arcs linking today’s culturally crisscrossed societies.”
–The New Leader

“A brilliant panorama of the human condition… An unputdownable page-turner. So assured is the narration, so finished the skill, that you keep reminding yourself it is the work of a first time novelist.”

–India Abroad (New York)

“Painted with exquisite imagery… Lines read as if they are extracted from poems, creating a story that is not only entertaining but a true piece of art.”
–Washington Missourian

“A wonderful achievement…The beautifully observed characters are engaging and draw the reader effortlessly into their different dreams and aspirations.”
–The Courier Mail (Australia)