JOANNE HOWARD: SLEEPING IN THE SUN
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Debut novelist Joanne Howard discusses her historical fiction book “Sleeping in the Sun.” Watch here in the YouTube player or download the episode on Podbean.
Whisk away to India in this compulsive novel of two unlikely people who discover hidden truths about a high-ranking British official set against the backdrop of colonial rule. Sleeping in the Sun transports readers to the past where a young American and his Indian servant must face the reality behind a faithful family friend and the consequences of knowing this truth. A must-read for fans of The Poisonwood Bible and The Inheritance of Loss.
While originally a part of her MFA thesis at Pacific University, this explosive novel dives into the author’s own grandfather’s story of living as a Christian missionary in British India. Through her extensive research on the British Raj, the work of her grandfather’s missionary group, the effects of colonization in India, and the rich descriptions of India in the early 20th century, Joanne’s story weaves a cinematic tale of discrimination and privilege showcasing the enduring impact of imperialism and the spark of revolution.
In the last years of the British Raj, an American missionary family stays on in Midnapore, India. Though the Hintons enjoy white privileges, they have never been accepted by British society and instead run a boarding house on the outskirts of town where wayward native Indians come to find relief. Young Gene Hinton can’t get out from under the thumb of his three older brothers, and the only person he can really relate to is Arthur, his family’s Indian servant. But when Uncle Ellis, a high-ranking British judge, suddenly arrives and announces he’ll be staying indefinitely in their humble house, far from his prestigious post in Himalayan foothills, life as Gene knows it is interrupted. While his brothers are excited at the judge’s arrival, he is skeptical as to why this important man is hiding out with them in the backwaters of Bengal.
Also skeptical is Arthur. Then an Indian woman appears on their doorstep—and, after growing close to her, he learns the sinister truth about the judge. Torn between a family that has provided him shelter, work, and purpose his whole life and the escalating outrage of his countrymen, Arthur must decide where his loyalties lie—and the Hintons must decide if they can still call India home.
Joanne Howard is an Asian American writer from California. She holds an MFA in writing from Pacific University. Her poetry received an honorable mention from Stanford University’s 2019 Paul Kalanithi Writing Award. Her fiction has been published in The Catalyst by UC Santa Barbara, The Metaworker Literary Magazine and the Marin Independent Journal and her nonfiction has been published in Another New Calligraphy and The Santa Barbara Independent. She lives in Santa Rosa, CA. More at https://www.joannehowardwrites.com/
