With emotional precision and narrative subtlety, The Royal Ghosts features characters trying to reconcile their true desires with the forces at work in Nepali society. Against the backdrop of the violent Maoist insurgencies that have claimed thousands of lives, these characters struggle with their duties to their aging parents, an oppressive caste system, and the complexities of arranged marriage. In the end, they manage to find peace and connection, often where they least expect it -- with the people directly in front of them. These stories brilliantly examine not only Kathmandu during a time of political crisis and cultural transformation but also the effects of that city on the individual consciousness.

"Nepali writer Upadhyay's stories (following last year's novel The Guru of Love) are set in the urban environment of modern-day Katmandu, where people's lives advance, or not, in the shadow of the country's turmoil. The title story takes place in June 2001, on the day Nepali Crown Prince Dipendra murdered his entire family before killing himself; its focus, however, is a rough-around-the-edges taxi driver coming to terms with his brother's homosexuality and his own intense loneliness. In "A Refugee," Pitamber offers to take Kabita and her daughter into his home and family after Maoist rebels killed her husband; his kindness backfires when he generous act alienates him from his son, wife and even another family he was trying to help. Other stories further illuminate the domestic side of Nepali life: in "The Wedding Hero," a wealthy bachelor decides to spend his money hosting a large wedding for two poor servants; his well-intentioned meddling doesn't lead to a happy ending for anyone, including the lower-class couple. Upadhyay's not-so-simple stories are lucid and often luminous."
-- Publishers Weekly

"Like Willam Trevor, Samrat Upadhyay compresses into a short story the breadth of vision and human consequence we expect of a novel, and he does so in a prose that seems as natural as breathing. If there were an author of the universe who bestowed on us the tender regard that Upadhyay bestows on his struggling people, we would be blessed indeed."
-- Scott Russell Sanders, author of A Private History of Awe

"Elegant, rich, and pleasing, the stories of the The Royal Ghosts will haunt readers long after the book is finished. These are tales of both the individual and the society, conveying a measured, transcendental gaze at the nature of the world."
-- Diana Abu-Jaber, Author of The Language of Baklava