Nivedita (a.k.a. Identitti), a doctoral student who blogs about race
with the help of Hindu goddess Kali, is in awe of Saraswati, her
outrageous superstar post-colonial and race studies tutor. But
Nivedita's life and sense of self begin to unravel when it emerges that
Saraswati is actually white. Hours before learning the truth Nivedita
praises her tutor in a radio interview, jeopardising her reputation and
igniting an angry backlash among her peers and online community.
In her complex and genre-bending debut, Mithu Sanyal collages commentary
from real-life intellectuals, blogs, articles, race theory and academic
warfare, combining campus novel and coming-of-age drama. A darkly
comedic tour de force astutely translated, Identitti showcases the
outsized power of social media in the current debates around identity
politics and the power of claiming your own voice.
