‘Mirza’s theorization of resistance is a substantive addition to feminist and postcolonial scholarship, and her rich readings of different literary texts make a valuable contribution to feminist literary studies.’ Nalini Iyer, Professor of English, Seattle University 'Resistance and its discontents in South Asian women’s fiction is a rigorous and impassioned exploration of the concept of resistance in postcolonial literature. It is an essential contribution to the field of postcolonial studies and a compelling excavation of resistance in South Asian women’s writing.' Claire Chambers, Professor of Global Literature, University of York 'Mirza’s comprehensive take on what counts as “resistance” in Anglophone fiction by women writers from South Asia and its diaspora—not just its heroic manifestations but also its limits, its contradictions, its marginality and even its absence in the reality of women’s lives—makes this a provocative theoretical inquiry into female agency. Resistance and its Discontents in South Asian Women’s Fiction makes a major contribution to postcolonial criticism as well as feminist theory.' Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, Formerly Global Distinguished Professor, New York University ‘Maryam Mirza’s new book is sure to become a major work of reference in the field of South Asian literary studies and of literature by (and on) women. Its breadth, depth, and level of detail are astonishing, and it offers a thoroughly new reboot of the genre of “resistance literature”, by enlarging and complexifying the semantic reach of the term “resistance” beyond its current remit within contemporary fictional narratives.’ Neelam Srivastava, Professor of Postcolonial and World Literature, Newcastle University This book is an examination of how English-language fiction by women writers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has grappled with the idea and practice of resistance. A valuable, original and timely contribution to the field of South Asian literary and cultural studies, this book extends and complicates existing debates about the meanings of resistance. It brings to the fore not only the emancipatory potential of resistance, but also the contradictions that it can encompass as well as the anxieties that it can generate, particularly for women. Focusing on novels and short fiction, the book explores fiction by Arundhati Roy, Kamila Shamsie, Tahmima Anam, Jhumpa Lahiri, Manju Kapur and Ru Freeman, amongst others. -- .

The economically privileged Lenny is able to taste the forbidden delights of the adult world because of her ayah. The romantic relationship between Sai, an upper-class Gujarati girl, and Gyan, a lower-middle-class Nepali boy, crosses both class and ethnic boundaries. The marriage between Ram, an aristocratic Hindu, and Rose, a working-class Englishwoman, transgresses racial and class lines while also reinforcing patriarchal hierarchies. These relationships in Ice-Candy-Man, The Inheritance of Loss, and Rich Like Us reveal striking similarities in how gendered and classed identities are lived in India and Pakistan. In this scholarly work, Maryam Mirza examines ten novels in English by women writers from the Indian subcontinent. She explores the role of power and desire, and of emotional and physical intimacy in cross-class relations. Among others, Mirza examines well-known novels such as Arundhati Roys The God of Small Things and Kamila Shamsies Salt and Saffron, and works that have hitherto drawn limited critical attention, such as Moni Mohsins The End of Innocence and Brinda Charrys The Hottest Day of the Year.