New York: Norton, (2001.) dj. Hardcover first edition - The author's very highly praised debut novel: Vishnu, the resident odd job man in a Bombay apartment block, lies dying on the staircase landing he inhabits, while his neighbors squabble over who will pay for the ambulance. Praise from such writers as Michael Cunningham, Amy Tan, Andrea Barrett (who called this "Sympathic, penetrating, comic, and moving, this fine and unusual first novel unexpectedly braids Hindu mythology and traditions into the daily life of a broad cast of wonderfully drawn characters. The result draws on the best storytelling traditions of both east and west.").Illustrated endpapers. 295 pp. ISBN: 0-393050424.