The impressionist

Pran Nath is born on a stormy monsoon night, and from the start his place in the world is uncertain. Raised in privilege, he loses his inheritance and is thrown out into the streets of Agra with nothing to fall back on. To survive, he learns to shift his identity to suit whoever he meets.

His path leads him through a series of very different worlds. He moves from the red light district of Bombay to the manicured lawns of England, and later into the uncharted African interior. Along the way he takes on one role after another: a young boy sold into a brothel, the adopted son of Scottish missionaries, and a polished young Englishman bound for Oxford. Each disguise promises a place where he might finally belong, and each tests what he is willing to become.

The novel is set against the backdrop of the British Empire, and it explores how class, race and colonial ambition shape who a person is permitted to be. Its episodic, picaresque structure follows Pran Nath across continents as he searches for a stable sense of self. It will appeal to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a wandering, adventurous plot and a restless, shape-shifting protagonist.

Hari Kunzru is a British novelist, and this is his first novel. He is also the author of White Tears.