>GrahamHardy at 19:14, 6 November 2020

2020-11-06T19:14:44Z

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Jasmine Days
| image = Jasmine Days.jpg
| caption = First edition (Malayalam)
| author = [[Benyamin (writer)|Benyamin]]
| country = India
| language = English
| genre = Fiction
| translator = Shahnaz Habib
| publisher = [[Juggernaut Books]]
| release_date = June 2018<br>2014 (Original)
| media_type = Print (Paperback)
| pages = 280
| isbn = 9789386228741
}}

'''''Jasmine Days''''' is a 2014 [[Malayalam]] novel by [[Benyamin (writer)|Benyamin]] and translated into English by [[Shahnaz Habib]]. It tells the story of Sameera Parvin, a young [[Pakistanis|Pakistani]] woman who works as a radio jockey in an unnamed Middle Eastern country which is on the verge of revolution.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://thewire.in/books/malayalam-writer-benyamins-jasmine-days-wins-jcb-prize-for-literature|title=Malayalam Writer Benyamin's 'Jasmine Days' Wins JCB Prize for Literature|publisher=The Wire|date=25 October 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref> First published in 2014 as ''Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal'', the novel won the inaugural [[JCB Prize]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thejcbprize.org/longlist2018/index/2806361d-0c52-4c94-a207-993f47734595|title=Jasmine Days|publisher=JCB Prize|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref> It was published by [[Juggernaut Books]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/bookshelf/jasmine-days|title=Jasmine Days|work=[[The Caravan]]|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref>

==Development==
Writer [[Benyamin (writer)|Benyamin]] has been living in [[Bahrain]] for 20 years and his novel ''[[Goat Days]]'' (2008) tells the story of an abused Indian migrant worker in [[Saudi Arabia]]. He said that the real-life incidents of the [[Arab Spring]] served as the inspiration for ''Jasmine Days''. He also developed the main characters based on the personalities of his own friends and acquaintances.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.firstpost.com/living/benyamin-on-his-new-book-jasmine-days-writing-about-the-arab-spring-and-the-beauty-of-malayalam-4775781.html|title=Benyamin on his new book Jasmine Days, writing about the Arab Spring and the beauty of Malayalam|last=Sikarai|first=Disha|publisher=Firstpost|date=24 July 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref>

==Reception==
Trisha Gupta of [[Scroll.in]] felt that the novel has "more locales, many more characters and a much more complex political landscape" than Benyamin's previous work. She wrote: "But what Benyamin pulls off again is Sameera’s voice: the almost spoken-word simplicity with which this landscape is rendered makes it hard not to listen."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://scroll.in/article/893545/with-his-new-novel-jasmine-days-benyamin-once-again-skilfully-presents-fiction-as-fact|title=With his new novel ‘Jasmine Days’, Benyamin once again skilfully presents fiction as fact|last=Gupta|first=Trisha|publisher=Scroll.in|date=8 September 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref> C.P Surendran of ''[[The Hindu]]'' called it "a serious effort to come to terms with the world around us." But, he felt that the novel is "not exceptionally inspirational either in terms of writing or flow of the narrative."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/jasmine-days-spoilt-by-a-preponderance-of-politics/article24944908.ece|title=‘Jasmine Days’: Spoilt by a preponderance of politics|last=Surendran|first=C.P|work=The Hindu|date=14 September 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref>

Faizal Khan of ''[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]'' wrote: "Benyamin’s craft of conversation-driven storytelling succeeds in revealing the tensions in a society starting to unravel. Nearly every character has a story from their tradition to add to the local narrative."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/book-review-malyalam-writer-benyamins-jasmine-days-tells-an-outsiders-story-set-in-the-arab-spring/1253501/|title=Book Review: Malyalam writer Benyamin’s Jasmine Days tells an outsider’s story set in the Arab Spring|last=Khan|first=Faizal|work=The Financial Express|date=22 July 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref> Supriya Nair of ''[[Mint (newspaper)|Mint]]'' called, "The novel is told in first person, but it isn’t really concerned with interiority: it’s the great knock-about events of the story, its gasping pace of riots, deaths, family feuds and mourning, that imbalances our senses."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/5WQIYdUwQqDhV6TEaXKEzJ/Malayalam-writer-Benyamins-new-book-in-translation-takes-us.html|title=Malayalam writer Benyamin’s new book in translation takes us back to the Arab Spring|last=Nair|first=Supriya|work=Mint|date=5 August 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref> [[Nandini Nair]] felt that the "power of ''Jasmine Days'' is that it tells a compelling story, but doesn't take sides."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/books/benyamin-the-smell-of-jasmine|title=Benyamin: The Smell of Jasmine|last=Nair|first=Nandini|work=OPEN|date=3 August 2018|accessdate=8 December 2018}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.juggernaut.in/books/jasmine-days1 ''Jasmine Days''] at [[Juggernaut Books]]

[[Category:2014 Indian novels]]
[[Category:Malayalam novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in the Middle East]]
[[Category:Juggernaut Books books]]

Jasmine Days - Revision history

>GrahamHardy at 19:14, 6 November 2020