Description

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE
A compelling blend of comedy and tragedy, this literary novel follows colliding lives, beguiling opportunities, and reckless illusions on a single London transit route.
Welcome to the number thirteen bus, heading for Boundary Road.
As passengers step on and off, they leave fragments of their lives behind, shifting into a giddy cocktail of monologues, dialogues, and raw memories. It is amazing what people will confess to total strangers. On this journey, the unsayable trips off the tongue-sprinkled with quiet melancholy or sudden, sharp blades of aggression.
While most passengers accept whatever life offers, others react with dangerous determination. Among them:

A charming man haunted by his family history, deeply in love with the present but running from a secret that is about to catch up with him.
A woman stifled by a lack of affection, quietly determined to do what is right.
A man obsessed with architecture and hopelessly in love with a painting.

For most, the ride is simply a liberating chance to exchange confidences. But for two passengers, this specific journey will force an inescapable reckoning, changing their lives forever.

Publisher Review

'Rao skilfully treads the boundary between fiction and non-fiction to offer a fascinating cross section of contemporary multi-cultural London from the top of a double-decker bus.I loved Aron's wonderful exuberance ' Priscilla Morris, author of Black Butterflies 'Enthralling, intense and heartfelt' Alison Moore, author of The Lighthouse. 'Aron and Nora assume real personality, real humanity, real depth. You can hear their voices as vividly as if you are sat next to them on the bus.' NB Magazine