The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises: From the Winner of the Booker Prize 2022

'It's a simple car bomb, and it's rigged to a busload of schoolgirls. No one knows it is there except for me.'

Unpleasant truths await a Sri Lankan president in the back of a London cab. An advertising agency has to come to terms with a blown-up collection of pictures of its employees' penises. A man presumed missing, quietly journals by the sea. A being dispassionately recalls the numerous births it had taken and absurd fates it had to endure. An Englishman, a Dutchman and a Portuguese man walk into a Ceylon bar with grand narcotic designs.

A masterful blend of dry wit, morbid charm and earnest observations, Booker-shortlisted author Shehan Karunatilaka's The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises is a collection of fantastic short stories that serves up fantasies for both doomsday and every day, marking the return of one of South Asia's most compelling storytellers.

Please note: As the author currently resides abroad, signed copies will be provided with an author-signed bookplate rather than a signature directly in the book.