‘I’m not a radical, Dad’
Adam Mars-Jones: Gurnaik Johal’s ‘Saraswati’, 22 January 2026
“... Gurnaik Johal’s admirable first novel starts with a piece of miraculous regeneration. Satnam, a Londoner, visits Punjab for the first time since childhood to scatter his grandmother’s ashes (this is East Punjab, on the Indian side of the border, predominantly Sikh). He looks down into the old well on the family farm – dry for many decades – and is surprised to see his reflection ... ”
