Hailed as an important new voice in fiction, Sanjay Nigam's debut is the story of a luckless snake charmer in an India both real and utterly magicalNamed "The Year's Best Fiction" by A. Magazine, The Snake Charmer tells the story of Sonalal, a middle-age snake charmer making a living with his been pipe and his beloved cobra, Raju. Despite his great skills, Sonalal's drinking and womanizing seem to have marked him for a life of insignificance. But that all changes one remarkable afternoon when he produces music so beautiful he is certain the gods must be listening. In a moment that will change his life forever, Raju bites Sonalal, and Sonalal bites back, destroying the one creature who loves him. The Snake Charmer traces Sonalal's bumpy journey through brief celebrity, profound remorse, and a quest for answers to unanswerable questions of love, life, and art. Sparely and beautifully written, this "novel of enchantments" (Oscar Hijuelos) is an unforgettable debut, confirming the Washington Post's comparison of Nigam to Arundhati Roy and Vikram Chandra.* Penguin Readers Guide Bound into Every Book"An engaging, light as a feather tale . . . Sonalal is, in short, a marvelous creation." --Richard Bernstein, The New York Times"The opening qualifies as the season's best." --USA Today"An exceptional novel."--The Washington Post* A selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club and the Quality Paperback Book Club* A Quality Paperback New Voices Fiction Award nominee* The Utne Reader recently honored Nigam as one of the ten important writers who comprise "The New Face of Fiction"