A modern fable of a rabbit and a squirrel is the subject of a new book which is a sharp, whimsical depiction of urban society, capturing the angst, yearnings and loneliness of present-day life.
Witty and absurd with its private air of enchantment, "The Rabbit & The Squirrel" is contemporary and timeless. Written by Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi, the book has full-colour illustrations by bestselling Swedish author and artist Stina Virsen.
Billed as a "book for our times", "The Rabbit & The Squirrel" is the story of an unlikely friendship between a penniless bunny and an heiress squirrel.
When married off to a wealthy boar, little does the feisty squirrel imagine that she will long most for the free-spirited hours spent with her old friend, the rabbit, a dropout with a genius for fun.
But even as their fates branch away from each other, the squirrel drifts from domestic life while the rabbit enlists with a monastery. The heartbreaking coda of this love story is a meditation on the enduring nature of friendship.
"For anyone who has been in love, and wondered what it all meant in the final analysis, this fable will hold a mirror to their heart," publishers Penguin Random House India said.
The book will hit stores on September 1.
"I wrote 'The Rabbit & the Squirrel' five years ago, as a gift of love for someone. I never thought it would see light of day - its publication is a sweet, divine accident," says Shanghvi.
Hemali Sodhi, senior vice president at Penguin Random House, terms the book as an achingly beautiful and heartbreaking modern fable.
"It's hard not to fall in love with the powerful simplicity of the Rabbit and the squirrel, and it's a book you keep wanting to return to. We at Penguin Random House are delighted to be publishing this exquisite book which marks Siddharth Dhanvant Shanghvi's triumphant return as an author," she says.
Shanghvi's debut novel "The Last Song of Dusk" won the Betty Trask Award (UK), the Premio Grinzane Cavour (Italy), and was nominated for the IMPAC Prize (Ireland). His second novel "The Lost Flamingoes of Bombay" was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2008.
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