2022-12-03
49 分钟World Book Club travels to The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in England, as guests of The Off the Shelf Festival and talks to local prize-winning Sheffield writer Sunjeev Sahota about his compelling novel, The Year of the Runaways. Voyaging from India to England, from childhood to the present day, Sunjeev Sahota's heart-rending novel follows a group of young men each in flight from India and desperately searching for a new and fulfilling life in the northern British town of Sheffield. Tarlochan is silent about his past in Bihar, and Avtar has a secret that binds him to protect the traumatized Randeep. Randeep has a visa wife living separately in a flat nearby, who constantly dreads a surprise call from the immigration authorities. An unforgettable story of dignity in the face of adversity and of the enduring power of the human spirit. (Picture: Sunjeev Sahota. Photo credit: Simon Revill.)
Welcome to the World Book Club podcast.
I'm Harriet Gilbert and this month marks the last in our series celebrating the exuberance of youth.
And the novel we've been reading tells the story of three young Indian men who come to Britain, each desperate to find a better life than the one he's left behind.
It's called the Year of the Runaways.
And here with us in Sheffield's Crucible Theatre to answer questions about the book from an invited audience and BBC listeners around the world, is its award winning author, Sanjeev Sahota.
Sanjeev, welcome to World Book Club.
Thanks, Harriet.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Sheffield is your hometown.
So did you manage to walk here this evening?
Not quite.
It was a.
It was a short drive through the traffic, but yeah, it was fine.
Oh, well, you avoided the bitter cold then.
Yeah, but it is November.
I suppose it should be.
It's November.
Yeah, but I'm a southerner, I feel the cold.
Anyway.
Since moving to Sheffield, having graduated from Imperial College London, Sanjeev has published three novels and been included by Granta magazine in its list of the 20 best young writers.