Arresting God in Kathmandu

Arresting God in Kathmandu is the debut book by Nepali-American author Samrat Upadhyay. Published in 2001, Arresting God in Kathmandu was awarded the Whiting Writers' Award for fiction. The book marks the first time a Nepali writer writing in English has been published in the West.

Synopsis
It is a collection of nine short stories that provide a glimpse into everyday life in Kathmandu, Nepal. The stories included in the books are:
 * 1) The Good Shopkeeper
 * 2) The Cooking Poet
 * 3) Deepak Misra's Secretary
 * 4) The Limping Bride
 * 5) During the Festival
 * 6) The Room Next Door
 * 7) The Man with Long Hair
 * 8) This World
 * 9) A Great Man's House

Reception
Publishers Weekly calls Upadhyay's writing "assured and simple", concluding that "Upadhyay anchors small yet potent epiphanies in a place called Kathmandu, and quietly calls it home." On the other hand, Kirkus Reviews called the book a collection of "diverting if sometimes lukewarm tales."