Nikita Lalwani was born in Rajasthan and raised in Cardiff. Gifted is her first novel and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the Glen Dimplex Fiction Award 2007. She lives in London.
A sparkling funny and poignant study of a young maths prodigy struggling with her gift and a difficult family -- Gerard Woodward, , Books of the Year * Observer * Superb, brilliantly realised. The searing narrative is unflinchingly and tenderly written * Independent * Pinpoints with genuine insight the bewilderment and anguish of a young woman marked out from her peers * Sunday Times * Lalwani's evocation of teenage dislocation is pitch-perfect and she inhabits her heroine's interior world with tender authority * Guardian * The novel's triumph is in elucidating the hurt of both child and parents. Lalwani compellingly depicts the pain and pleasure of breaking the rules * New Statesman * Beautiful, brilliant . . . Unveils the grand emotions and tiny details of other people's lives with insight, compassion, humour and heartbreaking honesty * Stephen Merchant * Accomplished and confident. Much to admire from the assured descriptions to the well judged blend of comedy and drama * The Times * A poignant, vivid debut. Beautifully describes the dramas of growing up -- , Book of the Month * Marie Claire * A giddy portrayal of youthful exuberance unleashed that rings startlingly true * Metro * Compelling, heart-wrenching and laced with redemptive hope . . . Touching and funny * Observer *