"A debut novel about the first native of the Indian subcontinent to live in the American colonies, Charry's stirring coming-of-age tale centers on Tony, whose kidnapping resulted in a voyage to England and later to the new colony of Virginia."--The Washington Post

"Marvelous... Richly imagined characters and keen explorations of identity, place, and the power of imagination drive this luminous achievement. Readers of Esi Edugyan and Yaa Gyasi will be enthralled."--Publisher's Weekly (starred review)

"What a vast and wondrous ocean of a novel this is--throwing up the unexpected and startling, the horrifying and utterly beautiful, moving from shore to shore with spectacularly skillful narrative poise. To journey with The East Indian is to journey through a world shape-shifting into the modern, a world being ravaged and transformed. It is to be reminded that amidst the rough sweep and scour of history, what remains precious are these timeless, enduring things--friendship, kindness, healing."--Janice Pariat, author of The Nine-Chambered Heart and Everything the Light Touches

"Filled with memorable characters, The East Indian grapples with the brutal colonialism and indentured labor of the 1600s with warmth and wit. An entertaining novel that adds more heft to Brinda Charry's already impressive oeuvre."--Shashi Tharoor, author of Inglorious Empire

"History comes alive in this brilliant, highly-imaginative and vivid novel. Immersive and revelatory--a stellar achievement."--E.C. Osondu, winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing, author of This House Is Not For Sale

"Tony, the "East Indian" of the title of Brinda Charry's utterly enjoyable debut novel, reads like a character straight out of Dickens. Based on an actual historical figure, the first person from India documented in the records of Colonial Virginia, Tony ventures into the entangled richness of a nascent America--a place he calls, "this precarious edge of the world." It is peopled by "servants"--both white and black, female and male--who find themselves as bound to the New World as they are to the Englishmen who rule it. Picaresque in style, lyrical of voice, gripping and authentic, The East Indian is a real treat."--David Wright Falade, author of Black Cloud Rising

Longlisted for the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award