# Tomb of Sand

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2018 Hindi novel by Geetanjali Shree

Tomb of Sand First edition cover Author Geetanjali Shree Translator Daisy Rockwell Language Hindi Publisher Rajkamal Prakashan (Hindi); Tilted Axis Press and Penguin Books India (English)[1] Publication date 2018 (original); 2021 (translation)[1] Publication place India Pages 376 (Hindi); 696 (English)

***Tomb of Sand*** (originally titled ***Ret Samadhi***, [Hindi](/source/Hindi_language): रेत समाधि)[2] is a 2018 [Hindi](/source/Hindi_(language))-language novel by Indian author [Geetanjali Shree](/source/Geetanjali_Shree). It was translated into [English](/source/English_(language)) by U.S. translator [Daisy Rockwell](/source/Daisy_Rockwell).[3] In 2022, the book became the first novel translated from an [Indian language](/source/Languages_of_India) to win the [International Booker Prize](/source/International_Booker_Prize).[4][5][6][7]

## Plot

In northern India, an eighty-year-old woman slips into deep depression after the death of her husband, and then resurfaces to gain a new lease on life. Her determination to fly in the face of convention – including striking up a friendship with a transgender person – confuses her bohemian daughter, who is used to thinking of herself as the more modern of the two.

To her family's dismay, Ma insists on travelling to [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan), simultaneously confronting the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of the [Indian Partition](/source/Partition_of_India), and re-evaluating what it means to be a mother, a daughter, a feminist.

## Critical reception

The novel received praise from book critics in India and elsewhere. Writing in *[The Hindu](/source/The_Hindu)*, reviewer [Mini Kapoor](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mini_Kapoor&action=edit&redlink=1) described it as "a stunningly powerful story about stories that never end".[8] Vighnesh Hampapura and Shree Thaarshini, reviewing in *[Scroll.in](/source/Scroll.in)*, called *Tomb of Sand* an original and undefinable novel, appreciating its "wild tendency toward free association loosens the borders with which we frame the world," and especially applauded the translator's ingenuity in capturing the novel's dizzy language.[9] Novelist [Alka Saraogi](/source/Alka_Saraogi), writing in *[The Book Review](/source/The_Book_Review)*, praised the novel for "its sweeping imagination and sheer power of language, unprecedented and uninhibited".[10] [Frank Wynne](/source/Frank_Wynne), chair of the 2022 International Booker judges, said it was "enormously engaging and charming and funny and light, despite the various subjects it's dealing with". He added that Rockwell's translation was "stunningly realised, the more so because so much of the original depends on wordplay, on the sounds and cadences of Hindi".[11]

## Accolades

In addition to winning the 2022 International Booker Prize and 2022 [Warwick Prize for Women in Translation](/source/Warwick_Prize_for_Women_in_Translation) in its English translation, the French translation (*Ret Samadhi, au-delà de la frontière*: [Éditions des Femmes](/source/%C3%89ditions_des_Femmes), Paris, 2020; tr. Annie Montaut) was shortlisted for the 2021 [Émile Guimet Prize for Asian Literature](/source/%C3%89mile_Guimet_Prize_for_Asian_Literature).[12]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-IndianExpress_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-IndianExpress_1-1) Chakrabarti, Paromita (28 May 2022). ["Geetanjali Shree and Daisy Rockwell's International Booker win brings Indian literature in translation into focus"](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/geetanjali-shree-daisy-rockwell-international-booker-prize-tomb-of-sand-ret-samadhi-hindi-indian-language-novel-7938999/). The Indian Express. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220528063401/https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/geetanjali-shree-daisy-rockwell-international-booker-prize-tomb-of-sand-ret-samadhi-hindi-indian-language-novel-7938999/) from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-to1_2-0)** ["Geetanjali Shree's "Tomb Of Sand""](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/geetanjali-shree-wins-international-booker-prize-for-first-hindi-novel-3013360#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll). ndtv. 27 May 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220527005713/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/geetanjali-shree-wins-international-booker-prize-for-first-hindi-novel-3013360#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll) from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["सीमाहरू भत्काउँदै 'रेत समाधि'"](https://ekantipur.com/koseli/2022/06/18/165551861075826986.html). *ekantipur.com* (in Nepali). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220922070813/https://ekantipur.com/koseli/2022/06/18/165551861075826986.html) from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Marshall, Alex (7 April 2022). ["Women Dominate Shortlist for International Booker Prize"](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/books/international-booker-prize-shortlist-tokarczuk.html). *The New York Times*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220408003652/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/07/books/international-booker-prize-shortlist-tokarczuk.html) from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Geetanjali Shree's 'Tomb of Sand' first Hindi novel on International Booker shortlist"](https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/geetanjali-shree-tomb-of-sand-first-hindi-novel-on-international-booker-shortlist-7858369/). *The Indian Express*. 7 April 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220408081011/https://indianexpress.com/article/books-and-literature/geetanjali-shree-tomb-of-sand-first-hindi-novel-on-international-booker-shortlist-7858369/) from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["The 2022 International Booker Prize"](https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/international/2022). The Booker Prizes. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220608105257/https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/international/2022) from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-to2_7-0)** ["Geetanjali Shree is first Indian winner of International Booker Prize"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-61561452). BBC. 27 May 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220527010646/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-61561452) from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Kapoor, Mini (21 May 2022). ["In Ma's metaverse: Mini Kapoor reviews Geetanjali Shree's 'Tomb of Sand', translated by Daisy Rockwell"](https://www.thehindu.com/society/mini-kapoor-reviews-geetanjali-shrees-tomb-of-sand/article65419099.ece). *The Hindu*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220528202042/https://www.thehindu.com/society/mini-kapoor-reviews-geetanjali-shrees-tomb-of-sand/article65419099.ece) from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 29 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Vighnesh Hampapura; Shree Thaarshini (23 April 2022). ["'Tomb of Sand': Geetanjali Shree's novel may be the most original and undefinable work of our times"](https://scroll.in/article/1022001/tomb-of-sand-geetanjali-shrees-novel-may-be-the-most-original-and-undefinable-work-of-our-times). *[Scroll.in](/source/Scroll.in)*. Retrieved 13 March 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [Saraogi, Alka](/source/Alka_Saraogi) (May 2019). ["Painting The Ordinary In Myriad Extraordinary Hues"](https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/painting-the-ordinary-in-myriad-extraordinary-hues/). *[The Book Review](/source/The_Book_Review)*. **43** (5). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230212132231/https://www.thebookreviewindia.org/painting-the-ordinary-in-myriad-extraordinary-hues/) from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["First novel translated from Hindi wins International Booker prize"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/may/26/first-novel-translated-from-hindi-wins-international-booker-prize). *The Guardian*. 26 May 2022. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230105234314/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/may/26/first-novel-translated-from-hindi-wins-international-booker-prize) from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2022.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Snaije, Olivia (28 April 2022). ["Geetanjali Shree on the Need for 'a Pluralistic Multilingual World'"](https://publishingperspectives.com/2022/04/geetanjali-shree-on-the-need-for-a-pluralistic-multilingual-world/). Publishing Perspectives. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20220527015357/https://publishingperspectives.com/2022/04/geetanjali-shree-on-the-need-for-a-pluralistic-multilingual-world/) from the original on 27 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.

## External links

- [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-9387462243](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-9387462243): Rajkamal Prakashan (Hindi)

- [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1911284611](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1911284611): Tilted Axis Press (English)

- [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0143448471](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0143448471): Penguin Books India (English)

v t e International Booker Prize winners 2005–2016 Ismail Kadare (2005) Chinua Achebe (2007) Alice Munro (2009) Philip Roth (2011) Lydia Davis (2013) László Krasznahorkai (2015) 2016–present The Vegetarian (2016) A Horse Walks Into a Bar (2017) Flights (2018) Celestial Bodies (2019) The Discomfort of Evening (2020) At Night All Blood Is Black (2021) Tomb of Sand (2022) Time Shelter (2023) Kairos (2024) Heart Lamp (2025) Taiwan Travelogue (2026)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Tomb of Sand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Sand) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Sand?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.