Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree

Tomb of Sand (originally Ret Samadhi) is a 2018 Hindi-language novel by Geetanjali Shree, translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. In 2022, it became the first novel translated from an Indian language to win the International Booker Prize.

The story centers on Ma, an 80-year-old woman who falls into deep depression after her husband’s death, spending much of the early novel in bed, turned away from her family and the world. As Ma slowly re-engages with life, she forms new relationships—including with a transgender woman named Rosie—and eventually embarks on a journey to Pakistan to confront unresolved traumas from her youth during the Partition riots.

The novel explores themes of grief, renewal, family dynamics, and the lingering wounds of Partition, all with a unique, poetic style and shifting narrative perspectives. Tomb of Sand is praised for its imaginative storytelling and the power of its language, both in the original Hindi and in translation