Punjab, 1929: a bride marries a man she is not allowed to see. Curiosity grows, with far-reaching consequences in Sunjeev Sahota’s absorbing novel

Mehar is one of three women in arranged marriages to three brothers. The women, who live together in a room that houses the family china, are veiled in all their dealings with the men – except when they see them at appointed times in total darkness. Mehar thinks she knows which brother is hers, a belief that awakens a dangerous passion, and a quest for freedom that will have lasting consequences in another continent.

Longlisted
The Booker Prize 2021
Published by
Harvill Secker
Publication date

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Sunjeev Sahota

Sunjeev Sahota

About the Author

Sunjeev Sahota is the author of Ours Are the Streets and The Year of the Runaways, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2015
More about Sunjeev Sahota

Listen to an extract from China Room

Indira Varma and Antonio Aakeel bring the audiobook of China Room to life.

Penguin Books UK · China Room - Sunjeev Sahota

Audiobook cover for China Room on a pink-coloured background.

Sunjeev Sahota and Kamila Shamsie in conversation

For the Vintage Books podcast, Sunjeev Sahota and Kamila Shamsie spoke with Ted Hodgkinson, head of literature and spoken word at Southbank Centre and a former International Booker Prize judge, about China Room, authorship, writing histories, and more.

Sunjeev Sahota in a white shirt and blue jumper looking to the left of the camera.

Other nominated books by Sunjeev Sahota

The Year of the Runaways