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August 29th, 2026: McEwan Hall, Edinburgh. Kiran Desai had not published a book in 20 years. Of the 5000 pages which sputtered out of the printer in a first draft, the nearly 700 pages of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny which careened out in stealth were worth the wait. Desai was looking, hunting, for some ‘sign of life’.