When two visitors arrive to the boarding house in India where an American boy is coming of age during the British Raj, truths unravel, disrupting his life and challenging the family’s sense of home. A unique historical angle ideal for fans of The Poisonwood Bible and The Inheritance of Loss.
In the last years of the British Raj, an American missionary family stays on in Midnapore, India. Though the Hintons enjoy white privileges, they have never been accepted by British society and instead run a boarding house on the outskirts of town where wayward native Indians come to find relief.
Young Gene Hinton can’t get out from under the thumb of his three older brothers, and the only person he can really relate to is Arthur, his family’s Indian servant. But when Uncle Ellis, a high-ranking British judge, suddenly arrives and announces he’ll be staying indefinitely in their humble house, far from his prestigious post in Himalayan foothills, life as Gene knows it is interrupted. While his brothers are excited at the judge’s arrival, he is skeptical as to why this important man is hiding out with them in the backwaters of Bengal.
Also skeptical is Arthur. Then an Indian woman appears on their doorstep—and, after growing close to her, he learns the sinister truth about the judge. Torn between a family that has provided him shelter, work, and purpose his whole life and the escalating outrage of his countrymen, Arthur must decide where his loyalties lie—and the Hintons must decide if they can still call India home.
Genre: Historical
In the last years of the British Raj, an American missionary family stays on in Midnapore, India. Though the Hintons enjoy white privileges, they have never been accepted by British society and instead run a boarding house on the outskirts of town where wayward native Indians come to find relief.
Young Gene Hinton can’t get out from under the thumb of his three older brothers, and the only person he can really relate to is Arthur, his family’s Indian servant. But when Uncle Ellis, a high-ranking British judge, suddenly arrives and announces he’ll be staying indefinitely in their humble house, far from his prestigious post in Himalayan foothills, life as Gene knows it is interrupted. While his brothers are excited at the judge’s arrival, he is skeptical as to why this important man is hiding out with them in the backwaters of Bengal.
Also skeptical is Arthur. Then an Indian woman appears on their doorstep—and, after growing close to her, he learns the sinister truth about the judge. Torn between a family that has provided him shelter, work, and purpose his whole life and the escalating outrage of his countrymen, Arthur must decide where his loyalties lie—and the Hintons must decide if they can still call India home.
Genre: Historical
Praise for this book
"Howard explores the tribulations and tragic ironies of imperialism in British India. Relationships are not what they appear to be, people have hidden dark sides, and one person's faith is another's sin. After a crime has been committed, it must be determined who did what and why. Yet Howard leaves you wondering who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in a country where religion and culture have been forcibly imposed. A thoughtful read, using historical fiction to shine light on the praxis of decolonization in our current century." - Jude Berman
"Large and saga-like in scope, and set in 1930s India, Joanne Howard's Sleeping in the Sun delivers a compassionate portrayal of a missionary family as they struggle to navigate the personal and political crosscurrents of enchantment, terror, love, and deceit. What I admire most in her debut novel is the courage with which this writer lifts the masks of disguise from her characters and reveals, as if superimposed on the place itself, that secret, interior world of human emotions." - Jack Driscoll
"Set against the backdrop of India in the 1930s, Sleeping in the Sun tells the story of the Hintons, a family of American missionaries sent to bring Christianity to the city of Midnapore. Told from the point of view of Gene, the Hintons' youngest son, and Arthur, their Indian servant, this sweeping historical novel flawlessly transports readers to another time and place. Political, racial, and interpersonal conflicts ensure you won't be able to put it down. I know I couldn't." - Susen Edwards
"Howard writes with vivid intensity [...]. The tale unfolds cinematically with lush descriptive prose; you will fully sense the streets and inhabitants of this Indian city and its countryside. But the real depth of this story lies within the relationships [...] both the raw attitudinal differences and the subtle undercurrents the characters either endure or ignore. Twelve-year-old Gene is the heart of the book, the most insightful of all, and the voice you will come to rely upon." - Francine Falk-Allen
"Joanne Howard's Sleeping in the Sun is a quiet and deeply moving novel, a story of a nation trying to reclaim itself, while one man and one boy try to discover who they are themselves. Howard shows us all this not by looking at the big picture, but at the individuals caught at the center of their sometimes conflicting, sometimes heartbreaking goals. A beautiful story, beautifully revealed." - Pete Fromm
"This is at once a gripping page-turner and book to savor and admire. It will light up your imagination and endure in your mind alongside all the memories from your real life. I was sad to see it end but delighted to welcome this impressive new voice into American literature. Joanne Howard is a writer to watch." - Valerie Laken
"In this gorgeously written book, Joanne Howard explores the corrupting influence of power, both within the family structure and the broader world. Rich with sensory details and vividly drawn characters both human and animal, Sleeping in the Sun is a stunning novel that grabs your emotions and doesn't let go." - Ginny Kubitz Moyer
"With meticulous attention to detail, Howard paints a vivid portrait of colonial India through the perspectives of an American family and their Indian servant, skillfully blending historical events with familial moments. Through the eyes of her characters, readers are transported to a world where identities are questioned and the true meaning of home is explored. As the narrative builds toward an explosive climax, Sleeping in the Sun becomes more than just a story - it is a poignant exploration of the human experience that resonates far beyond the last chapter." - Veena Rao
"Exquisitely rendered and highly nuanced, Joanne Howard's debut novel, Sleeping in the Sun, immerses readers into the world of young American Gene Hinton as he comes of age in rural India in the 1930s. Battling inner and outer demons, Gene forms a unique bond with the Hintons' Indian servant, Arthur, and gains an eye into life's underbelly. Sumptuously written and detailed, this novel is destined to become a classic. A triumph!" - Ashley E Sweeney
"Sleeping in the Sun is a novel impossible to put down. A quiet cinematic study of imperialism and the scars it has left. An outstanding debut." - Willy Vlautin
"Large and saga-like in scope, and set in 1930s India, Joanne Howard's Sleeping in the Sun delivers a compassionate portrayal of a missionary family as they struggle to navigate the personal and political crosscurrents of enchantment, terror, love, and deceit. What I admire most in her debut novel is the courage with which this writer lifts the masks of disguise from her characters and reveals, as if superimposed on the place itself, that secret, interior world of human emotions." - Jack Driscoll
"Set against the backdrop of India in the 1930s, Sleeping in the Sun tells the story of the Hintons, a family of American missionaries sent to bring Christianity to the city of Midnapore. Told from the point of view of Gene, the Hintons' youngest son, and Arthur, their Indian servant, this sweeping historical novel flawlessly transports readers to another time and place. Political, racial, and interpersonal conflicts ensure you won't be able to put it down. I know I couldn't." - Susen Edwards
"Howard writes with vivid intensity [...]. The tale unfolds cinematically with lush descriptive prose; you will fully sense the streets and inhabitants of this Indian city and its countryside. But the real depth of this story lies within the relationships [...] both the raw attitudinal differences and the subtle undercurrents the characters either endure or ignore. Twelve-year-old Gene is the heart of the book, the most insightful of all, and the voice you will come to rely upon." - Francine Falk-Allen
"Joanne Howard's Sleeping in the Sun is a quiet and deeply moving novel, a story of a nation trying to reclaim itself, while one man and one boy try to discover who they are themselves. Howard shows us all this not by looking at the big picture, but at the individuals caught at the center of their sometimes conflicting, sometimes heartbreaking goals. A beautiful story, beautifully revealed." - Pete Fromm
"This is at once a gripping page-turner and book to savor and admire. It will light up your imagination and endure in your mind alongside all the memories from your real life. I was sad to see it end but delighted to welcome this impressive new voice into American literature. Joanne Howard is a writer to watch." - Valerie Laken
"In this gorgeously written book, Joanne Howard explores the corrupting influence of power, both within the family structure and the broader world. Rich with sensory details and vividly drawn characters both human and animal, Sleeping in the Sun is a stunning novel that grabs your emotions and doesn't let go." - Ginny Kubitz Moyer
"With meticulous attention to detail, Howard paints a vivid portrait of colonial India through the perspectives of an American family and their Indian servant, skillfully blending historical events with familial moments. Through the eyes of her characters, readers are transported to a world where identities are questioned and the true meaning of home is explored. As the narrative builds toward an explosive climax, Sleeping in the Sun becomes more than just a story - it is a poignant exploration of the human experience that resonates far beyond the last chapter." - Veena Rao
"Exquisitely rendered and highly nuanced, Joanne Howard's debut novel, Sleeping in the Sun, immerses readers into the world of young American Gene Hinton as he comes of age in rural India in the 1930s. Battling inner and outer demons, Gene forms a unique bond with the Hintons' Indian servant, Arthur, and gains an eye into life's underbelly. Sumptuously written and detailed, this novel is destined to become a classic. A triumph!" - Ashley E Sweeney
"Sleeping in the Sun is a novel impossible to put down. A quiet cinematic study of imperialism and the scars it has left. An outstanding debut." - Willy Vlautin
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