Esther David

The Man with Enormous Wings
THE MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS – 2010 - Penguin Books India Private Ltd. ISBN 978-0-143-06692-7
Focusing on the communal riots which rocked Ahmedabad in 2002, Esther David offers a series of impressionistic, sharply etched portraits of the city. From the breathtaking Sidi Saiyyed mosque and the unbridled joy of Uttarayan celebrations to the sheer terror and mindless bloodshed of the riots, these short pieces describe the place and try to understand the events that changed it forever. These vignettes have one thing in common: the man with enormous wings is actually Mahatma Gandhi, as he impotently hovers over the narrative, silently lamenting the fierce bloodlust of a city that once worshipped him and grew up on his lessons of non-violence. This novel was launched by famed Gandhi Kathakar Narayan Desai.

THE WALLED CITY
The Walled City is set in Ahmedabad around three generation of Jewish women.
First published by East West Books, Manas Imprint, Chennai, in 1997. Second reprint published in 2000.
ISBN 81-86852-00-x.

Second edition – 2002. Republished by Syracuse University Press, New York, USA (Library of Modern Jewish Literature) 2002. ISBN 0-8156-0750-4.

Translated into French by Sonja Terangle, titled La Ville En Ses Murs. Published by Editions Philippe Picquier, France in 1997.

In 1997, La ville en ses murs was nominated for the first list of the Prix Femina, for foreign writers.
Second edition of La Ville en ses Murs in poche or pocket book form released in May 2003.

Translated into Gujarati, titled Bhint and published by Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Included in doctorate thesis by Monika Bachmann Zurich University, on the theme of Speaking as Women, construction of female identity in three English novels of Contemporary Indian Women writers. Included in paper presented on Echo-Narratives and Family Histories by Sudha Rai of Rajasthan University at British Association of South Asian Studies Annual Conference at Leeds university.

2005-2006 - The Walled City, Book of Esther and Book of Rachel – for Dr. Joan Rowland’s course of Jewish History and Literature at Pace University, New York, USA.

BY THE SABARMATI
A Collection of short stories set IN AHMEDABAD Published by Penguin India in 1999. ISBN 0-14-027843-5.
Translated into Gujarati by Renuka Sheth, titled Sabarmati ne kinare, published by Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

BOOK OF ESTHER
A mega novel based on a Jewish family living in Alibaug and Ahmedabad in the time span of 150 years. Published by Penguin India, Viking. 2002. ISBN 0-67-00409-3
Book of Esther, taught in the course of Gender and Literature Post-colonial South Asia and beyond, at department of English, George Washington University. USA. 2004.

BOOK OF RACHEL
Penguin Viking – released February 2006. Book of Rachel is about preservation of the Jewish tradition in India.
ISBN 0-67-005866-1

Le Livre de Rachel
Book of Rachel translated in French by Sonja Terangle by publisher Heloise D'Omesson

MY FATHER's ZOO
2006 Rupa & co. A children’s book about growing up in a zoo. ISBN 81-291-1077-6

ANE DHARA DHRUJI
A collection of short stories in Gujarati by victims of the January 26, 2001 earthquake which I edited.
Published by Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad – 2000.

SARI SUTRA
Contributed a chapter on Bene Israeli Jewish costumes for a book on India’s Jewish Heritage, Ritual, Art and Life Cycle, edited by Shalva Weil for Marg Publications, Mumbai in January 2003. Second edition –2004.

Shalom India Housing Society
Shalom India Housing society is a novel set around Bene-Israeli Jewish families living in Ahmedabad. The novel revolves around the dilemma of the last of the Jews of Ahmedabad trying to hold on to their identity in India. Each chapter tells the story of a family. The novel raises some basic questions about belonging to India and migrating to Israel. The novel also explores the intercultural relationships between Indian Jews and other communities. Published by Women UNlimited (Kali for Women). ISBN-81-88965-09-X

Gattu's Wildlife Adventures
BookBox, a web-based jukebox of animated books has come out with 'Gattu's Wildlife Adventures', a set of 5 audio visual books, based on Gattu, a character in the Indian television serial, Baa, Bahoo aur Baby.

This initiative is the brain child of Star TV and a collaborative effort between Star TV and Book Box. Author Esther David accepted to energize it with the magic of her stories and has written charming stories about how Gattu champions the cause of nature's gentle creatures. This collection will be launched in the market sometime in December.

Forthcoming novels –
- Man With Enormous Wings(Penguin).
- Short stories for children for CD's to be made by BOOK BOX.
- Book of Rachel is being translated into French by Sonja Terangle and to be published by Editions Heloise de Ormesson of Paris for 2008.
- Book of Rachel is also being translated in Gujarati by Renuka Sheth at Navbharat Sahitya Mandir.

All novels by Esther David are researched by Shalva Weil for her chapter," The Author Who Grew Up With A Tiger" for the book," Israeli scholarship in India," co-authored by Shalva Weil and David Schulman, Jerusalem University, Israel.

Contributed a short story THE WORRY BOX AND THE LAUGHING LADY, for an anthology: CITY STORIES, published by Scholastic India.

Commemorative volumes by Penguin India for 20 years in publishing, extract from BOOK OF ESTHER.

Esther David's short story NANKI CHIRAI in an anthology published by Sahitya Academy New Delhi, titled, GROWING UP AS A WOMAN WRITER edited by Jasbir Jain.

For Shalom India Housing Society write to Women Unlimited at womenunltd@vsnl.net