Edison

Winner of the Asian American Writers' Workshop Pages in Progress Prize
"A delightful and perceptive jaunt into the heart of the Indian American community of New Jersey, Edison is a charming, often hilarious novel brimming over with life, laughter, and dreams worthy of the most outrageous Bollywood movies.”
—Chitra Divakaruni, author of Independence and Mistress of Spices
"A sparkling epic worthy of Bollywood's silver screens."
—Kirkus Reviews
Edison is a Bollywood-style epic tale brimming with song and dance, action and comedy, love and pathos, and cameos by dozens of real Indian stars of yesterday and today—a hilariously entertaining masala film in the guise of literary fiction. 
Along the way, we glean bits of Bollywood history and fall in love with an improbable cast of characters that inhabits Edison’s “Little India.” Edison is a wild, romantic, laugh-out-loud love letter to the Indian American community of Edison, New Jersey, where author Pallavi Dixit grew up.
The unlikely star of Edison is Prem Kumar, the hapless youngest son of a titan of New Delhi industry. Obsessed with Hindi movies—what the world calls Bollywood—he is uninterested in joining the family business or marrying the spear-wielding heiress chosen by his father. He runs away to chase his filmmaking dreams in America, but his plans are immediately derailed. Instead, he finds himself crashing on a mattress and working at an Exxon gas station in the Indian immigrant community of Edison, New Jersey.
Although life is not going according to script, Prem finds a happy rhythm in this bewildering setting. When the beautiful and ambitious Leena Engineer bursts onto the scene, she and her grocery store–owning father upend Prem’s short-term plan to do as little as possible, launching him on an epic adventure to make something of himself. Supported by an unruly cast of roommates, aunties, murderous yet orderly mobsters, and film stars at once glamorous and ludicrous, Prem test-drives the role of hero, and along the way, he witnesses around him the transformation of an ordinary suburb into a bustling "Little India."

About the author

Pallavi Sharma Dixit holds a BA and an MA (history) from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has been the recipient of grants and fellowships from the Jerome Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, and others. She was a winner of the Asian American Writers Workshop’s Pages in Progress Prize and one of three winners of the First Pages Prize in fiction for Edison, her debut novel. She has taught creative writing at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, where she lives with her husband, two children, and their dog. She grew up in Edison and frequently visits the town, where her parents still reside.

Summary

Winner of the Asian American Writers' Workshop Pages in Progress Prize
"A delightful and perceptive jaunt into the heart of the Indian American community of New Jersey, Edison is a charming, often hilarious novel brimming over with life, laughter, and dreams worthy of the most outrageous Bollywood movies.”
—Chitra Divakaruni, author of Independence and Mistress of Spices
"A sparkling epic worthy of Bollywood's silver screens."
—Kirkus Reviews
Edison is a Bollywood-style epic tale brimming with song and dance, action and comedy, love and pathos, and cameos by dozens of real Indian stars of yesterday and today—a hilariously entertaining masala film in the guise of literary fiction. 
Along the way, we glean bits of Bollywood history and fall in love with an improbable cast of characters that inhabits Edison’s “Little India.” Edison is a wild, romantic, laugh-out-loud love letter to the Indian American community of Edison, New Jersey, where author Pallavi Dixit grew up.
The unlikely star of Edison is Prem Kumar, the hapless youngest son of a titan of New Delhi industry. Obsessed with Hindi movies—what the world calls Bollywood—he is uninterested in joining the family business or marrying the spear-wielding heiress chosen by his father. He runs away to chase his filmmaking dreams in America, but his plans are immediately derailed. Instead, he finds himself crashing on a mattress and working at an Exxon gas station in the Indian immigrant community of Edison, New Jersey.
Although life is not going according to script, Prem finds a happy rhythm in this bewildering setting. When the beautiful and ambitious Leena Engineer bursts onto the scene, she and her grocery store–owning father upend Prem’s short-term plan to do as little as possible, launching him on an epic adventure to make something of himself. Supported by an unruly cast of roommates, aunties, murderous yet orderly mobsters, and film stars at once glamorous and ludicrous, Prem test-drives the role of hero, and along the way, he witnesses around him the transformation of an ordinary suburb into a bustling "Little India."

Foreword

MAJOR COMMUNITY FOCUSED LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

• Edison Reads EDISON, in partnership with the Office of Mayor Sam Joshi.
• Working in partnership with the Mayor’s Office, Edison will be the official read of the township of Edison during the summer of 2024.

The campaign includes:

• Press event in coordination with the Mayor’s office.
• Launch event in Edison partnering with the Mayor’s Office, BIG Cinemas movie theater on Oak Tree Road (screens Bollywood films), Edison Public Library, and Barnes & Noble (Menlo Park Mall).
•  Poster / bookmark campaign with local businesses on Oak Tree Road.
• Additional author events at the Edison Public Library and the Edison Barnes & Noble (Menlo Park Mall).

CONFIRMED COVERAGE / REVIEWS INCLUDE:

• "A sparkling epic worthy of Bollywood’s silver screens." — Kirkus Reviews
• Edina Magazine will publish a feature article on the author and book in the June 2024 issue. 
• Gold House Book Club will feature the book and author in late May 2024, right around the publication date.
• Shelf Awareness "Reading With" Feature — scheduled for July.

Product details

• Authors: Pallavi Sharma Dixit
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 04.06.2024, delayed
• EAN: 9798890130150
• ISBN: 979-8-89013-015-0
• No. of pages: 472
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / Romance / General, Family life fiction, FICTION / Own Voices, Saga fiction (family / generational sagas), Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, Modern and Contemporary romance, FICTION / Diversity & Multicultural