The Immortal King Rao is a 2022 debut novel by Canadian and American writer Vauhini Vara, published by W. W. Norton & Company. The novel follows the legacy of King Rao, a tech CEO who motioned the world toward corporatocracy, as his daughter pens a letter about his rise to power.[1] It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.[2][3]
 | |
| Author | Vauhini Vara |
|---|---|
| Genre | Literary fiction, speculative fiction, climate fiction |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
Publication date | May 3, 2022 |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 978-0393541755 |
| Followed by | This Is Salvaged |
Synopsis
editThe novel begins with King Rao's death and follows his daughter, Athena, after she's been imprisoned and injected with a substance that endows his memories to her. As she awaits judgment by a computer for a crime, and while the planet is facing collapse due to climate change, she writes to the Shareholders on the Board of Corporations in defense of herself and in reflection of her father's life, starting from his birth in a village in India to Dalit farmers.[1]
Critical reception
editKirkus Reviews noted that "Vara’s strengths are in her clever wordplay and trenchant observations of an algorithm-led dystopia" but questioned the sometimes stereotypical depictions of some minor characters.[4] In a starred review, Publishers Weekly found Vara's debut "potent" and marveled at the execution of her "family portrait".[5]
Critics in Vox and Vulture observed and lauded Vara's speculative approach to issues such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and capitalism.[6][7] The New York Times called the novel "a monumental achievement: beautiful and brilliant, heartbreaking and wise".[8] Bomb found it "Intensely imaginative, lyrically voiced, and gorgeously written".[9] The Seattle Times commended Vara's choice to write the novel in the form of a letter addressed to the Shareholders.[10] Alta Journal called the novel a "masterpiece."[11]
The Guardian admired Vara's ambition but found that the novel "suffers from trying to take on too many ideas at once, with the novel’s sense of identity inevitably weakened as a result."[12]
The novel was put on anticipated read lists by several publications, including Lithub.[13][14][15][16] The New York Times included it on their list of 100 Notable Books of 2022.[17] NPR included it on their 2022 list of Books We Love.[18] The Philadelphia Inquirer, Vox, and Esquire put it on their respective Best Books of 2022 lists.[19][20][21]
Influences
editVara cited her time working as a technology reporter for The Wall Street Journal as inspirational to her later envisioning the character of King Rao. She specifically came up with the idea for the novel while working on the short stories that would become her 2023 book, This Is Salvaged.[22] At the time of writing, Vara read Moby-Dick for the first time which demonstrated to her what a novel about capitalism could look like.[23]
Vara got the idea for King Rao's memory technology after watching Battlestar Galactica and later researching documents produced by startups like Neuralink.[22] With regard to the Board of Corporations and its Shareholders, Vara came up with them after thinking about Thomas Piketty's ideas about organized transnational capital in Capital and Ideology.[9]
In researching Dalit life, Vara consulted her own father, Dalit scholars, and several books including but not limited to Viramma, Joothan, The Weave of my Life, Karukku, Ants Among Elephants, Coming Out as Dalit, and Caste Matters.[9]
Adaptations
editIn 2023, the studio Wiip acquired rights to Vara's novel and tapped screenwriter Madhuri Shekar to adapt it to screen and also be an executive producer for the production. It is set to be developed into a television series.[24]
References
edit- ^ a b Vara, Vauhini (May 3, 2022). The Immortal King Rao. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0393541755.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^ Khatib, Joumana; Alter, Alexandra; Harris, Elizabeth A. (May 8, 2023). "Pulitzer Prizes 2023: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists". The New York Times.
- ^ "2022 First Novel Prize". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ THE IMMORTAL KING RAO | Kirkus Reviews.
- ^ "The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Grady, Constance (2022-06-17). "In The Immortal King Rao, a tech billionaire becomes king of the world". Vox. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Rao, Mallika (2022-05-19). "In These Novels of Tech Dystopia, Memories Belong to the Cloud". Vulture. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Taylor, Justin (April 30, 2022). "Family Saga. Capitalist Satire. Climate Thriller. Debut Novel". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c "BOMB Magazine | If We Took It To Its Natural Conclusion: Vauhini Vara…". BOMB Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "In 'The Immortal King Rao,' an ambitious inventor leaves behind a troubling legacy". The Seattle Times. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Best Fiction Book". Alta Online. 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Allan, Nina (2022-06-08). "The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara review – the rise and fall of a tech giant". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Strand, Karla J. (2022-02-07). "Most Anticipated Reads for the Rest of Us 2022". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "10 books by Colorado authors you should read in 2022". The Denver Post. 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Selma Blair's Memoir & 55 More Must-Read Books Out This May". Bustle. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2022". Literary Hub. 2022-01-05. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "100 Notable Books of 2022". The New York Times. November 22, 2022.
- ^ "Books We Love". NPR. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Rapa, Patrick (2022-12-01). "The best books of 2022". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "The Best Books of 2022". Esquire. 2022-12-15. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ Grady, Constance (2022-12-13). "Vox's 16 best books of 2022". Vox. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ a b "An Interview with Vauhini Vara, 2022 First Novel Prize Finalist for The Immortal King Rao". The Center for Fiction. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "Issue Forty-Four: A Conversation with Vauhini Vara - The Adroit Journal". 2023-01-15. Retrieved 2024-10-27.
- ^ "In 'The Immortal King Rao,' an ambitious inventor leaves behind a troubling legacy". The Seattle Times. 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2024-10-27.