Manil Suri

Manil Suri Biography

Manil Suri is an Indian-American mathematician and writer, who writes novels related to Hindu mythology and philosophy. As a writer he is best known for the trilogy of Hindi gods - The Death of Vishnu (2001), The Age of Shiva (2008) and The City of Devi (2013). His debut book The Death of Vishnu was long listed for Booker Prize in 2001. It was a finalist in fiction category at Kiriyama Prize. It won - ALA Notable Books for Adults, McKitterick Prize, PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize (co-winner) and was nominated at PEN/Faulkner Award in 2002. Suri won the "Bad Sex in Fiction" prize for the climactic sex scene in The City of Devi.

His father R. L. Suri worked as a Bollywood music composer. Manil was born in Mumbai in July 1959. His mother Prem Suri was a school teacher. His early education till graduation was completed at Mumbai, before he moved to US for higher studies. He received a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1983. Then he started his career as a lecturer of mathematics. He first worked in University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

As a writer he used to write during his spare time since 1980s. But he didn’t publish any. He initially wrote short stories. He began writing The Death of Vishnu in 1995 and finally published in 2001, winning many accolades. He earned recognition as a writer through his debut work, when The Death of Vishnu was long listed for Booker Prize in 2001. It is about the spiritual journey of a dying man named Vishnu living in an apartment in Mumbai. It also incorporated lives of other people living in the same building. He completed his trilogy, by authoring two more books - The Age of Shiva (2008) and The City of Devi (2013).

Published: November 04, 2018

Updated: November 04, 2018