{"product_id":"the-first-house-a-novel-by-avni-doshi","title":"The First House: A Novel by Avni Doshi (Hardcover) (PREORDER)","description":"\u003cp\u003eFiction - Literary - Family Life - Marriage and Divorce\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRELEASE DATE: 11\/10\/2026  (WILL SHIP DIRECTLY FROM OUR SUPPLIER'S WAREHOUSE)\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e“Each page is sharp, piercing, and totally defiant of the expected.” —Douglas Stuart\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the Booker Prize finalist author of Burnt Sugar comes a riveting novel of rupture and rebirth, of one woman’s journey to understand the fault lines in her marriage, her home, and her family.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen my husband comes into the bedroom we have shared for thirteen years and tells me he doesn’t want to be married anymore, I reach for my neck. My head is missing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA husband announces he is leaving, that he was never happy. A woman is left behind with their two children in the house they built together, reeling at this forced recasting of the story of their marriage. Everything becomes strange: an encounter at the grocery store, a looming cicada horde, a statue of Diana that suddenly appears in her neighbor’s yard. Or was it always there?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs she wades through the aftermath of her marriage, her complicated family resurfaces. Although close to her parents, her relationship with them is strained, and she is fully estranged from her older sister—the perfect daughter—who still lives at home and always disapproved of her husband. So when did the trouble begin? And where will she go from here?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen she was a child, an astrologer in India told her parents that the family would die in water. Ever since, they’ve avoided pools and lakes and the ocean; no one ever learned to swim. From the Booker finalist and beloved author of Burnt Sugar comes a brilliant story of betrayal, renunciation, and renewal, of a woman spiraling who swims to the other side and comes up for air.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAUTHOR BIO: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvni Doshi\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in New Jersey and lives in Dubai. She has a BA in art history from Barnard College in New York and a master's in history of art from University College London. Her writing has appeared in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBritish Vogue\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (London). Her first novel, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBurnt Sugar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, was originally released in India under the title \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eGirl in White Cotton\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, where it won the 2021 Sushila Devi Award. Upon publication in the UK, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBurnt Sugar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize. Named a 2020 Book of the Year by \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, and NPR, it has been published in twenty-six languages. In 2021, it was longlisted for the Women's Prize and selected as one of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eBook Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e's 100 Notable Books of the year. In 2022, it was a finalist for the PEN\/Hemingway Award.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\" The First House reads like something out of mythology. In Avni Doshi's hands, everything becomes laced with a surreal and sinister magic. In measured and clever prose, the narrator unspools all of her relationships, and she knows exactly which loose threads to pull. Her quiet observations about the inner machinations of a family are honest, insightful, spot-on. This is a writer who understands best what tethers us to those we love.\" \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eKatie Yee, author of Maggie; Or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\" The First House is an engrossing and affecting account of the end of a marriage. Avni Doshi's writing is precise and sharp and yet accommodates an eeriness that will surprise the reader. A remarkable, haunting novel.\" \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eDeepa Anappara, author of The Last of Earth and Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"A blistering tour-de-force of a novel that will tunnel itself into your ribcage and linger for long afterwards. Strange, surreal, uncomfortably all-too-human- The First House cements Avni Doshi as one of the most original and astute writers working today- this story is both contemporary and timeless.\" \u003cb\u003e--Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"S\u0026S\/Summit Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50069132837057,"sku":"9781668204863","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0535\/7522\/1441\/files\/9781668204863.jpg?v=1774214535","url":"https:\/\/www.bookhavenbooks.com\/products\/the-first-house-a-novel-by-avni-doshi","provider":"Book Haven Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}