{"product_id":"a-speck-of-coal-dust-winner-of-a-betty-trask-award","title":"A Speck of Coal Dust: Winner of a Betty Trask Award","description":"\u003cp\u003eRemarkably accomplished ... unforgettable  AMIT CHAUDHURIFinelypaced [and] richly observant  ADIL JUSSAWALLADeeply personal and profoundly historical  SAIKAT MAJUMDARSpectacular  KHUSHWANT SINGHWINNER OF A BETTY TRASK AWARD 1995First published in 1996 as In the Light of the Black Sun and long unavailable, Rohit Manchandas debut novel, A Speck of Coal Dust, is one of the finest comingofage narratives in IndianEnglish writing and a forgotten classic.Set in the coalmining regions of eastern India, this exquisitely crafted work follows Vipul, the elevenyearold son of a mine manager, as he awakens to the mysteries of life in a backwater town marooned in time. He finds in his environs much to marvel at, to dread, to love and to cherish, while a motley cast of characters  oddball friends, capricious teachers, a comicsloving swami, missionaries, and tinpot rogues  floats into and out of his life.Here, Vipuls eyes are opened to the smallness, and at once the grandeur, of the arena he inhabits and its place in the larger world, even as he learns his early lessons of cruelty and kindness, the glories and severities of nature, and sensual stirrings laced with guilt...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fourth Estate","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45903409348806,"sku":"DADAX9354898858","price":4.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/9389\/1014\/files\/41nMNatrs-L.jpg?v=1780368824","url":"https:\/\/ergodemedia.com\/products\/a-speck-of-coal-dust-winner-of-a-betty-trask-award","provider":"Ergodemedia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}