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Published: 15/04/2021
A young lecturer finds herself the victim of an insidious, sustained race hate crime in Chakrabarty’s heartbreaking yet viscerally beautiful novel of prejudice, discrimination and seeking sanctuary in love.
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2022
Shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2022
Tesya has reasons to feel hopeful after leaving her last job, where she was subjected to a series of anonymous hate crimes. Now she is back home in London to start a new lecturing position, and has begun an exciting, if tumultuous, love affair with the enigmatic Holly. But this idyllic new start quickly sours.
Tesya finds herself victimized again at work by an unknown assailant, who subjects her to an insidious, sustained race hate crime. As her paranoia mounts, Tesya finds herself yearning for the most elemental desires: love, acceptance, and sanctuary. Her assailant, meanwhile, is recording his manifesto, and plotting his next steps.
Inspired by the author's personal experiences of hate crime and bookended with essays which contextualise the story within a lifetime of microaggressions, Lessons in Love and Other Crimes is a heart-breaking, hopeful, and compulsively readable novel about the most quotidian of crimes.
Publisher: The Indigo Press
ISBN: 9781911648222
Number of pages: 288
Weight: 259 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 20 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
69 new books by Black and POC authors out in 2021
‘Centred on the fall-out of a race crime, this multi-layered literary debut is an occasionally heartbreaking read, and a story you won’t be able to get of your head.’
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/g35042485/best-books-black-poc-authors-2021/?slide=58
‘Believe me, this book is going to shake things up for all those who read it.’
‘Texting’s Not Touching’
https://visualverse.org/?ct=t%28EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_5_9_2019_14_42_COPY_02%29&mc_cid=21ed854bec&mc_eid=b0353fd57e
‘Books to read in 2021’
‘Elizabeth Chakrabarty’s Lessons in Love and Other Crimes which immediately grabbed my attention. I love how it is bookended with essays which contextualise the story – about Tesya who leaves her job after being subjected to a hate crime.’
https://theasianwriter.co.uk/2021/02/08/books-to-read-in-2021/
‘Chakrabarty’s story is so stark that no reader could turn away, like so many of us turn away from or dismiss issues that do not directly affect us.’
https://twitter.com/jayzaff/status/1379109172105580547/photo/2
Lessons in Love and Other Crimes by Elizabeth Chakrabarty
‘Lessons in Love and Other Crimes is a gripping read, with rich characters, compelling prose, and a riveting plot. But it is also so much more. On each page, it encourages us to consider the inarguable reality of racism.’
https://lunate.co.uk/reviews/lessons-in-love-and-other-crimes-by-elizabeth-chakrabarty
‘It's a scintillating, beguiling and eye-opening read and without a doubt my favourite book of 2021.’
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3933330672
Lessons in Love and Other Crimes by Elizabeth Chakrabarty, review: an innovative hybrid novel
‘a multi-layered and thought-provoking work’
https://inews.co.uk/culture/books/lessons-in-love-and-other-crimes-review-innovative-novel-motives-impact-hate-crime-967894
Review: Lessons in Love and Other Crimes
‘A surprising combination of charming romance and tense criminal investigation to narrow down a predator, these two genres put into play by Chakrabarty have a somewhat abrasive relationship with each other throughout the text, but their opposing forces are a perfect pairing.’
https://dura-dundee.org.uk/2021/05/25/lessons-in-love-and-other-crimes/
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“Piercing, stark, and brilliantly written.”
I sat with this review for a while because it was hard to know where to start with this one. Tesya's navigation of life during and after hate crimes is tough, complicated, and hard to predict, making an excellent... More
“Interesting and thought provoking”
A dictionary definition of racism: prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic... More
“An important lesson that needs to be heard”
I was given an advance copy of this book by Indigo Press to review. I finished reading 'Lessons in Love and Other Crimes' about a week ago, but I really felt like I needed to process what I had read... More
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