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{{Use Indian English|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2017}}

{{Infobox book
| name = '''Em and the Big Hoom'''
| title_orig =
| translator =
| image = File:Em and the Big Hoom.jpg
| caption = First edition
| author = [[Jerry Pinto]]
| cover_artist =
| country = [[India]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| series =
| genre = [[Fiction]]
| publisher = [[Aleph Book Company]]<br>[[Penguin Books|Penguin]]<br>Turtleback Books
| release_date = 1 April 2012
| pages = 240 (first edition hardcover)
| isbn = 8192328023
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
}}
'''''Em and the Big Hoom''''' is an English-language novel written by [[Jerry Pinto]]. The book won [[The Hindu Literary Prize|''The Hindu'' Literary Prize]], the [[Crossword Book Award]], the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]], and the [[Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes#2016|Windham–Campbell Literature Prize]].

The foundation of the book is built on the unusual relationships within the Mendes family: Imelda, Augustine, their daughter Susan, and their unnamed son from whose perspective the book is narrated. The non-linear storyline chronicles the life of the family, from the early lives of Imelda and Augustine (known by their children as 'Em' and 'The Big Hoom') to the family's chaotic struggle with Em's [[bipolar disorder]], her euphoric flamboyance, strange charm, and paranoid attempts at suicide.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/314819/em-and-the-big-hoom-by-jerry-pinto/9780143124764/readers-guide/|title=Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto - Reading Guide - PenguinRandomHouse.com|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Background and writing==
While generally categorised as fiction, the book draws heavily on Pinto's upbringing as a [[Goans|Goan]] [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] in [[Mumbai]], and his family's struggle with his own mother's bipolar disorder. An earlier version of the novel was written in the form of a memoir, but was rewritten as fiction after it began to take an emotional toll on Pinto. The original draft of the novel was around 750,000 words, three times the length of ''[[War and Peace]]''.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/21/a-conversation-with-author-jerry-pinto/|title=A Conversation With: Author Jerry Pinto|last=Bearak|first=Max|date=2014|website=India Ink|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref>

==Critical reception==
The book was praised by several writers, including [[Salman Rushdie]], who called it "one of the very best books to come out of India in a long, long time."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/195470/em-and-the-big-hoom/|title=Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto|website=www.penguin.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> [[Amitav Ghosh]] said that the novel was "profoundly moving book" and that he could not remember when he had last read something as touching.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://amitavghosh.com/blog/?p=10|title='Em and The Big Hoom' by Jerry Pinto « Amitav Ghosh|website=amitavghosh.com|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> In a review for [[India Today]], Anvar Alikhan said of the novel, "I don't know how much of this book is autobiographical, but I suspect a large part of it is: It's just too authentic, in its minutiae of mental illness, and its deliberately matter-of-fact narrative of pain, for it to be the fiction that it pretends to be. It's an emotionally daunting book and, frankly, I'm not sure everybody will have the strength, or even the compassion, to reap its richness."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20120604-em-and-the-big-hoom-by-jerry-pinto-book-review-758556-2012-05-26|title=Review of Em And The Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto|website=India Today|language=en|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref>

''Em and The Big Hoom'' received international critical acclaim as well. For [[The Irish Times]], [[Eileen Battersby]] wrote in her review, "Pinto’s book is shocking in its impressive understatement (.....) There may not be such a thing as a perfect book, yet Jerry Pinto comes heartbreakingly close."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/cruel-and-unusual-1.1777761|title=Cruel and unusual|work=The Irish Times|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en-US}}</ref>

In ''[[The Guardian]]'', [[Scarlett Thomas]] wrote, "This book is most successful when the characters are allowed to speak for themselves, and Pinto is quite a genius with dialogue. (...) This is an India that many people won't have seen, and while we don't spend enough time in that flat in Bombay, it is worth hanging around outside."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/03/em-and-the-big-hoom-jerry-pinto-family-life-bombay|title=Em and the Big Hoom by Jerry Pinto – family life and mental turmoil in Bombay|last=Thomas|first=Scarlett|date=2014-05-03|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref> Peter Yeung of The ''[[Financial Times]]'' reported, "It is written with genuine compassion and sincerity, while a sprinkling of black humour ensures it is never overly sentimental."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ft.com/content/4bbc390a-d6cb-11e3-907c-00144feabdc0|title='Em and the Big Hoom', by Jerry Pinto|date=2014-05-09|website=Financial Times|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-04-29}}</ref>

==Awards==
* 2016 [[Windham–Campbell Literature Prizes#2016|Windham–Campbell Literature Prize]] for fiction (co-winner)<ref>{{cite news |title=In conversation with Jerry Pinto: How mental health and illness is perceived in India-Living News , Firstpost |url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/in-conversation-with-jerry-pinto-how-mental-health-and-illness-is-perceived-in-india-2998306.html |work=Firstpost |date=11 September 2016}}</ref>
* [[2016 Kendra Sahitya Akademi award]] - English<ref>{{cite news |title=Hope my book has served readers well: Jerry Pinto on Sahitya Akademi award |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/books/hope-my-book-has-served-readers-well-jerry-pinto-on-sahitya-akademi-award/story-1FSIhT1I9T0C5iB6u4DmRK.html |work=Hindustan Times |date=22 December 2016 |language=en}}</ref>
* 2013 [[Crossword Book Award]] for fiction (co-winner)<ref>{{cite news |title='Popular choice' ruled at book awards |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Popular-choice-ruled-at-book-awards/articleshow/26984253.cms |work=[[Times of India]] |date=7 December 2013 |access-date=7 December 2013}}</ref>
* 2012 [[The Hindu Literary Prize|''The Hindu'' Literary Prize]]<ref>{{cite news|title=The Hindu Literary Prize goes to Jerry Pinto|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/the-hindu-literary-prize-goes-to-jerry-pinto/article4425328.ece|access-date=31 December 2017|work=The Hindu|date=17 February 2013|language=en-IN}}</ref>

==Translations==
* {{lang-mr|एम आणि हूमराव}} (''Em ani Hoomrao''), translated by [[Shanta Gokhale]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Delhi Public Library|url=http://www.delhipubliclibrary.in/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=94462|access-date=31 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Pinto|first1=Jerry|title=The modest Shanta Gokhale|url=http://www.theweek.in/columns/Jerry-Pinto/the-modest-shanta-gokhale.html|access-date=31 December 2017|work=theweek.in|date=8 May 2016}}</ref>
* {{lang-fr|Nous l'appelions Em}}, translated by Myriam Bellehigue<ref>{{cite news|last1=Desquesnes|first1=Naïké|title=Grandir près d'une mère folle|url=https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/2016/03/DESQUESNES/54942|access-date=31 December 2017|work=Le Monde diplomatique|date=1 March 2016|language=fr}}</ref>
* Noted Tamil translator Kannaiyan Daksnamurthy has translated this award winning novel into Tamil under the title {{lang-ta|எம்மும் பெரிய ஹூமும்}} (Em'mum periya hūmum), and Sahitya Akademy has published it.<ref>{{ISBN|978-93-87989-02-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pinto |first1=Jerry |title=எம்மும் பெரிய ஹூமும் |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/emmum-periya-humum/oclc/1201521693?referer=di&ht=edition |date=2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award for English}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:2012 Indian novels]]
[[Category:Novels about mental health]]
[[Category:Nonlinear narrative novels]]
[[Category:Sahitya Akademi Award-winning works]]

Em and the Big Hoom - Revision history

UpdateBot at 12:54, 10 January 2022