Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens
WINNER OF THE MILES FRANKLIN LITERARY AWARD 2023
A gorgeously layered reading group novel about the unexpected families we create around us.
Welcome to Cinnamon Gardens, a home for those who are lost and the stories they treasure.
Cinnamon Gardens Nursing Home is nestled in the quiet suburb of Westgrove, Sydney – populated with residents with colourful histories, each with their own secrets, triumphs and failings. This is their safe place, an oasis of familiar delights – a beautiful garden, a busy kitchen and a bountiful recreation schedule.
But this ordinary neighbourhood is not without its prejudices. The serenity of Cinnamon Gardens is threatened by malignant forces more interested in what makes this refuge different rather than embracing the calm companionship that makes this place home to so many. As those who challenge the residents’ existence make their stand against the nursing home with devastating consequences, our characters are forced to reckon with a country divided.
Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens is about family and memory, community and race, but is ultimately a love letter to storytelling and how our stories shape who we are.
About the Author
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Shankari Chandran was raised in Canberra, Australia. She spent a decade in London, working as a lawyer in the social justice field. She eventually returned home to Australia, where she now lives with her husband and four children. She is the author of Song of the Sun God, The Barrier and Chai Time at Cinnamon Gardens, which won the 2023 Miles Franklin Literary Award. |
Praise
‘Deftly traversing time, culture and continent to weave a tale of both home and unbelonging, this is truly a novel not to be missed.’ - Maxine Beneba Clarke, author of Foreign Soil and The Hate Race
‘Chandran is an excellent storyteller.’ - The Weekend Australian
‘This is an engaging story that feels both urgent and necessary. It is also a terrific read.’ - The Daily Telegraph
‘this story burns with anger and sings with optimism, sprinkled through with moments of levity and humour.’ - The Canberra Times
‘An engrossing, urgent, warm, wise and utterly, utterly beautiful novel.’ - Emily Maguire, author of An Isolated Incident and Love Objects
‘This is a book that requires concentration and full immersion – but it will reward the reader for that investment.’ - The Guardian
‘a powerful, compassionate novel about friendship, family, community-building, and the racism faced by members of diasporic communities in this country.’ - The AU Review
ISBN
9781761151408
Format
Paperback
Cost
$24.99
Pub Date
November 2022
Extent
384pp
Rights
ANZ
Category
Fiction
Themes
Multi-generational, Community, Racism