"The language [takes] on a musicality that is in sharp contrast to the bleak setting . . . refreshing . . . a strong debut."
-New York Times Book Review
"Subramanian writes with empathy and exuberance, offering a much-needed glimpse into a world that too many of us don't even know exists. This is a book to give your little sister, your mother, your best friend, yourself, so together you can celebrate the strength of women and girls, the tenacity it takes to survive in a world that would rather have you disappear."-NylonIn the tight-knit community known as Heaven, a ramshackle slum hidden between luxury high-rises in Bangalore, India, five girls on the cusp of womanhood forge an unbreakable bond. Muslim, Christian, and Hindu; queer and straight; cis and trans; they are full of life, and they love and accept one another unconditionally, determined to transcend their surroundings.
When the local government threatens to demolish their tin shacks in order to build a shopping mall, the girls and their mothers refuse to be erased. Together they wage war on the bulldozers sent to bury their homes, and, ultimately, on the city that wishes families like theirs would remain hidden forever.
Elegant, poetic, and vibrant, A People's History of Heaven dazzles in its depiction of these fierce women-and their determination not just to survive, but to triumph.
Mathangi Subramanian is an award-winning Indian American writer, author, and educator. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Teachers College of Columbia University, and the recipient of a Fulbright as well as other fellowships. Her writing has previously appeared in the Washington Post, Quartz, Al Jazeera America, and elsewhere. This is her first work of literary fiction. "Subramanian foregrounds the stuff that makes these girls human, rather than a mass of lumpen slum-dwellers . . . A People's History of Heaven does not reduce its characters to dozens of fists raised in the air, but instead gives a full account of the extraordinary lives that stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the wreckage of a wealthy city, ready to fight against the bulldozers upon the horizon."
-The Believer
"The power of these fierce young women shines in spite of their circumstances, and they prove just how beautiful and influential a strong, unconditionally accepting community is. Subramanian is a remarkable writer whose vibrant words carry a lot of heart. This inspiring novel is sure to draw in readers with its lyrical prose and endearing characters."
-Booklist
"A vibrant novel . . . a beautiful story of love, loyalty, and female friendship." -HelloGiggles
"[A] colorful, dramatic coming of age story."-Ms. Magazine
"Spending time with this fearsome five is . . . just plain fun. Slum life is never romanticized. The narrator, an unnamed member of the girls' inner circle, delivers enough cynical wisdom and pithy commentary to show just how wise these girls are to their plight without dismissing how insidious cultural messages are. What crystalizes is the sure knowledge that none of them are powerless . . . A People's History of Heaven forefronts human dignity and the intelligence it takes to survive at the intersection of so much society uses to set people apart, while also making it clear that, 'in Heaven, anger is not about any one person. It's about the whole world.'"
-Foreword Reviews
"Subramanian's observations are sharp, witty, and incisive; her writing is consistently gorgeous. She is passionate about the plight of Indian girls subjected to a patriarchal system that ruthlessly oppresses and devalues them . . . In depicting the societal ills that oppress India's women, Subramanian refuses to acquiesce to the plot that fate seems to have written for these girls."
-The Washington Independent Review of Books
"Everything about A People's History of
