Brannavan Gnanalingam Explained

Brannavan Gnanalingam
Birth Date:20 October 1983
Birth Place:Sri Lanka
Citizenship:New Zealand
Occupation:Author, Lawyer

Brannavan Gnanalingam (born 20 October 1983, Sri Lanka)[1] is a New Zealand author and practicing lawyer with the New Zealand firm Buddle Findlay at its Wellington office.[2]

Biography

Gnanalingam was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Lower Hutt. His debut novel Getting Under Sail was published by Lawrence and Gibson in 2011.[3] [4] The novel was based on a trip Gnanalingam undertook with two friends from Morocco to Ghana, which included being mistakenly detained for the French tourist killings in Mauritania.[5] The book was praised for "the narrator’s wry honesty, miles away from the usual Africa travelogue clichés".[6] In 2013 his second novel You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here was published and received positive reviews in New Zealand.[7] [8] The book follows a trip by a middle-aged woman to Paris, who instead of finding it the city of love, experiences it as a cold and disorienting place. The book was based on Gnanalingam's time spent in Paris between 2012 and 2013.[9] [10] His third novel, Credit in the Straight World (2015), his first set in New Zealand,[11] is "a satirical account of the global financial crisis" described by the New Zealand Herald as a "tale of surreal humour and genuine insight".[12] His fourth novel, A Briefcase, Two Pies and a Penthouse (2016), was longlisted for the 2017 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year.[13]

His fifth novel published in 2017, Sodden Downstream, was shortlisted for the 2018 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards novel of the year with The Spinoff books editor Steve Braunias noting that his inclusion was "a particularly good call."[14] In a review of the book The Pantograph Punch said, "His rendition of Kiwi idiom is some of the best you’ll read."[15] Gnanalingam confessed to The Dominion Post, talking about Sodden Downstream, "...[T]here are so few Sri Lankan characters in New Zealand literature. I wanted to reflect that....It's...based on the fact that the Sri Lankan Civil War was something that my family and I went through, so I can write from personal experience."[16]

His 2020 novel, Sprigs, won the 2021 Best Novel prize at the Ngaio Marsh Awards[17] and was shortlisted for the 2021 Fiction award at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.[18] The Guardian described Sprigs as "an incendiary novel" and "an important examination of racism, violence and toxic masculinity that everyone should read".[19]

In 2022, Gnanalingam latest novel, Slow Down, You're Here, was released. The book was described as a horror novel, received critical praise[20] [21] and was listed as one of the best books of the year by The Spinoff.[22]

From 2006–2016, Gnanalingam contributed to the online publication The Lumière Reader,[23] [24] which is now on hiatus.[25] He covered film festivals such as Venice, Berlin, Rotterdam, and Cannes when writing for this publication. He has also written for The Spinoff, The New Zealand Listener, the New Zealand Herald[26] and The Dominion Post.[27] As of 2024 he was a contributing editor for Wellington-based Lawrence & Gibson publishing collective.[28]

Select publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brannavan Gnanalingam. The Spinoff. 2018-04-04.
  2. Web site: BUDDLEFINDLAY – Brannavan Gnanalingam. www.buddlefindlay.com. 2018-04-04.
  3. News: Burgess. Malcolm. 11 May 2011. Small and Cheekily Formed. Dominion Post. 18 May 2021.
  4. Dalgleish. Jodie. 1 October 2011. Generation Xperimental. Landfall Review Online. 2011. Landfall.
  5. Gnanalingam, Brannavan (2011) 'Mali and Me' NZ Listener http://www.listener.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/mali-and-me/
  6. Finnermore, Sam (2011) 'Privatising Parts by Richard Meros and Getting Under Sail by Brannavan Gnanalingam review' [Listener] http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/privatising-parts-by-richard-meros-and-getting-under-sail-by-brannavan-gnanalingam-review/
  7. Dennerstein, Natasha (2014) 'Book review: You Should Have Come Here When You Were Not Here, by Brannavan Gnanalingam' NZ Listener 30 January. http://www.listener.co.nz/culture/books/book-review-you-should-have-come-here-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/
  8. Treloar, Abbie (2013) Review BooksellersNZ https://booksellersnz.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/book-review-you-should-have-come-when-you-were-not-here-by-brannavan-gnanalingam/
  9. Web site: Conversations: Novel Beginnings | The Lumière Reader . Lumiere.net.nz . 2013-11-08 . 2018-04-24.
  10. Web site: Author Brannavan Gnanalingam. 25 October 2013.
  11. Web site: Credit in the Straight World interview with Brannavan Gnanalingam . 2022-07-27 . Lawrence and Gibson . en.
  12. Web site: Pattison. Ngaire Atmore. 12 July 2015. Books: Recent releases July 12. live. 2021-05-19. NZ Herald. en-NZ. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519024651/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/books-recent-releases-july-12/YSSHRXGM47FOCI7TUDOWB3T5GQ/ . 2021-05-19 .
  13. 'Ockham 2017 Book Awards long-list revealed' Stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/books/86710998/2017-ockham-nz-book-awards-longlist-revealed
  14. Braunias, Steve (2018) 'Diana, Brannavan, and the others: announcing the 2018 Ockham national book awards shortlist' https://thespinoff.co.nz/books/06-03-2018/diana-brannavan-and-the-others-announcing-the-2018-ockham-national-book-awards-shortlist/
  15. Lloyd, Therese (2017) 'Kindness of Strangers: A review of Sodden Downstream' http://pantograph-punch.com/post/sodden-downstream
  16. Web site: The Dominion Post. November 4, 2017. Minority Report. April 4, 2018. pressreader.
  17. Web site: 2021-11-01. Ngaio Marsh Awards 2021 – winners of New Zealand's top crime fiction awards announced Crime Fiction Lover. 2021-11-03. crimefictionlover.com. en-US.
  18. Web site: Woulfe. Catherine. 2021-03-03. Ockham NZ Book Awards shortlist, 2021: the brutal cull, revealed – plus, our pick for the win. 2021-03-03. The Spinoff.
  19. News: 2021-05-12 . Short stories leave authors nowhere to hide. But Ockham winner Beautrais nails it every time . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-02-24 . 0261-3077.
  20. Web site: Mabey . Claire . 2022-05-24 . A review of Onehunga horror story Slow Down, You're Here . 2023-02-24 . The Spinoff . en.
  21. Web site: 2022-04-22 . Book review: Slow Down, You're Here by Brannavan Gnanalingam . 2023-02-24 . RNZ . en-nz.
  22. Web site: Books . The Spinoff Review of . 2022-12-19 . The great, late Christmas books guide 2022 . 2023-02-24 . The Spinoff . en.
  23. Web site: Brannavan Gnanalingam | Authors | The Lumière Reader . Lumiere.net.nz . 2018-04-24.
  24. Web site: Brannavan Gnanalingam. Pantograph Punch. 2018-04-04.
  25. Web site: The Lumière Reader. The Lumière Reader. April 4, 2018.
  26. Web site: Judgments based on skin and heritage has nothing, and everything, to do with you. 2021-03-03. NZ Herald. en-NZ.
  27. Web site: Brannavan Gnanalingam WORD Christchurch. wordchristchurch.co.nz. 2018-04-04.
  28. Web site: Catherall . Sarah . 2022-08-05 . Inventing a new name helped author Murdoch Stephens with writer's block . 2023-02-24 . Stuff . en.

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