Novel
The Wake of the White Tiger
सेतो बाघ
Diamond Shumsher Rana · 1970
Synopsis
In the nineteenth century, the life of Jagat Jung Rana, eldest son of Jung Bahadur Rana, master of Nepal. The novel follows the last years of his father's rule, as he gradually loses his hold over the palace, then the plots that, after his death, set his sons against their cousins, Jung Bahadur's nephews, within the Rana family in the struggle for power.
Context
Written partly in prison, the novel appeared in 1970 and follows Basanti, devoted to Jung Bahadur's rise and loves; a sequel, Satprayas, appeared in 1991. It has been translated into English as The Wake of the White Tiger, into Japanese and into French: Le Tigre blanc was published in Paris in 1990, translated by Denise Robin-Kunz and Jean-Yves Robin. Neer Shah brought it to the screen in 2015.
Who it is for
For plunging into the dynastic rivalries of nineteenth-century Nepal, halfway between history and fiction.
Prizes and reception
The Kathmandu Post regarded it in 1996 as one of the most discussed and most loved Nepali novels.