Identitti

Synopsis of Identitti

«Identitti» is the novel by Mithu M. Sanyal, published by Hanser, Carl GmbH + Co. in hardback (430 pages, in German).

The work revolves around Nivedita, a student of Professor Saraswati, an influential postcolonial studies intellectual whose identity as a racialised person explodes into scandal when it is discovered that she is white. From there, the novel follows the digital hunt for authenticity, the protests calling for her removal and the intimate conversations through which Nivedita tries to understand what belonging means. The narrative combines academic critique and humour to address racism, identity, activism and cancel culture.

Novel first published in 2021; it appeared on the longlist for the Deutscher Buchpreis 2021.

For readers interested in contemporary German fiction with social and postcolonial debate.