Literary Review of Canada: Sharp Insights: a debut collection from Shashi Bhat
“A sensitive feminist, Bhat creates characters through careful analysis overlaid with irony and wit. …A formidable presence in the expanding worlds of Canadian literature.”
–David Staines, Literary Review of Canada
CBC Books: The Finalists for the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction
Sheila Heti, Anne Carson Among Finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards
Kirkus Reviews: The Most Precious Substance on Earth
“An empowering and liberatory coming-of-age novel for ‘the girls who stay quiet.'”
–Kirkus
Shelf Awareness Review: The Most Precious Substance on Earth
The Walrus: Canadian Authors Pick Their Favourite Books of 2021
The Shakespearean Rag: Shashi Bhat Blurs the Line Between Novels and Short Fiction
“These are the tools and tactics of a consummate short story writer. They are also emblematic of Bhat’s ability, throughout The Most Precious Substance on Earth, to distill human experience to crystalline instants of pain, fear, or humour.”
–Steven W. Beattie, That Shakespearean Rag
CBC Books: Book Lovers Name Their Must-Reads for Fall
Hamilton Review of Books: Editors’ Picks, Fall 2021
“All I knew was that ‘Mute,’ which would go on to win the prize, was utterly distinct in terms of its narrative voice, and its clarity, and its point of view. So smart, and wise, and funny, and sad, and I don’t know that I’d ever read anything else quite like it. ”
–Kerry Clare, Pickle Me This
CBC Books: 65 Canadian Works of Fiction to Watch for in Fall 2021
49th Shelf Most Anticipated: 2021 Fall Fiction Preview
Quill & Quire’s Summer Reading Guide
CBC Books: 29 Canadian Books We Can’t Wait to Read in August
7 New Books Perfect for Your Summer Beach Reads, Chatelaine
Welcoming Award-Winning Author Shashi Bhat, Translatlantic Agency
Elizabeth Hay, Shashi Bhat Among Winners at Writers’ Trust Ceremony, The Globe and Mail
“In Shashi Bhat’s ‘Mute,’ rooms open into other rooms, and each one is furnished with an inventory of meticulous detail, right down to the roaches scuttling across the floor and the narrator who puts on heels to rise above them. It is a story about fear and loneliness, failed connections and existential questions, as well as a darkly funny take on academia, literary snobbery, and popular culture. This is a story where sentences sparkle, each one laying down the path toward a perfect and most unsettling conclusion.”
–Journey Prize Jury Citation
How We Limn the Body: John Barton in Conversation with Shashi Bhat, The Malahat Review
Shashi Bhat’s Debut Novel a Refreshing Break from Convention, The Globe and Mail
Book Review: The Family Took Shape, National Post
“The Family Took Shape has a strange and very beautiful ending, proof of Bhat’s tremendous promise.”
–Donna Bailey Nurse, National Post
Review of The Family Took Shape, Quill & Quire
Shashi Bhat, Writers’ Trust of Canada
New & Notable, Belletrista: Celebrating Women Writers from Around the World
“Humour and horror combine in startlingly authentic ways in ‘Indian Cooking,’ a moving story that makes brave choices in its characterizations and avoids sentimentality in its depiction of family tragedy.”
–Bronwen Wallace Award Jury Remarks
PRISM Contributor Shashi Bhat in 2012 Journey Prize Anthology, PRISM international
Review: “The Threepenny Review” Spring 2011 Fiction, Rio Lang
Writers’ Trust prize finalists announced, CBC News Arts & Entertainment