At the End of the Century

The Stories of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

By: Anita Desai, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah, Henrietta Meire, Kate Reading, various narrators

Multilayered, subtle, insightful short stories from the inimitable Booker Prize-winning author

Nobody has written so powerfully of the relationship between and within India and the Western middle classes than Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. In this selection of stories, chosen by her surviving family, her ability to tenderly and humorously view the situations faced by three (sometimes interacting) cultures - European, post-Independence Indian, and American - is never more acute.

In “A Course of English Studies", a young woman arrives at Oxford from India and struggles to adapt, not only to the sad, stoic object of her infatuation but also to a country that seems so resistant to passion and color. In the wrenching “Expiation”, the blind, unconditional love of a cloth-shop owner for his wastrel younger brother exposes the tragic beauty and foolishness of human compassion and faith. The wry and triumphant “Pagans” brings us middle-aged sisters Brigitte and Frankie in Los Angeles, who discover a youthful sexuality in the company of the languid and handsome young Indian, Shoki. This collection also includes Jhabvala’s last story, “The Judge’s Will”, which appeared in the New Yorker in 2013 after her death.

The profound inner experience of both men and women is at the center of Jhabvala’s writing: She rivals Jane Austen with her impeccable powers of observation. With an introduction by her friend, the writer Anita Desai, At the End of the Century celebrates a writer’s astonishing lifetime gift for language and leaves us with no doubt of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala’s unique place in modern literature.

©2019 Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A large cast of talented narrators was well chosen to give voice to this excellent collection of Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's subtle and multilayered short stories.... These tender, fierce, clear-eyed stories touch on life's unexpected pains and joys, and on the vagaries of the human heart faced by her Indian, English, and American characters. They are to be savored." (AudioFile Magazine)