Book blurb

Kavi Naidu is a great poet in the tradition of Wordsworth and Shelley (well, he thinks so, anyway). Pompous, sentimental and hell-bent on finding literary fame and romantic glory, he is catapulted from his humdrum routine into the heady distractions of London.

Urged on by his mother, Kavi sets out to win the prestigious Commonwealth Poetry Prize – but arriving in London, he is beset by people who bewilder him, and over everything looms Seth, India’s most celebrated writer, Kavi’s nemesis for many years. Failing to see the pitfalls all around, he stumbles from muddle to faux pas to disaster.

Suffused with warm, sly humour and a sharp eye for human failings, Something Black in the Lentil Soup is an irreverent portrayal of three parallel cultures – British, Indian and British-Indian – and an entertaining tale of an innocent abroad.

My thoughts

This is a warm, funny and insightful read about a man, Kavi Naidu, who yearns for his poetry to be published, admired and praised. His Amma, as she is known, has been the most supportive and loving mother. She has continually made his life easier to allow him the time to be creative and write his poetry. Through work as a civil servant in Delhi, his marriage, becoming a father himself indeed throughout his life Amma has always believed in his talent. He is a great admirer of Wordsworth, Keats and Shelley. He has a love of the British – its history and culture as he knows it and the English language writing his poetry only in English.

Then at last Kavi Naidu finally gets his chance to be recognised as the talented poet he believes, indeed knows he is, when he and Seth, India’s famed poet, are nominated for the prestigious Commonwealth Prize he just knows he will win.

Kavi Naidu travels to London and so begins the trip of a lifetime. He is plunged into London life, with connections through the Indian Embassy his world, his understanding is turned inside out and we follow him as he slowly realises the English, the Indian person who lives in England aren’t the same as in his imagination. This naive man comes crashing into reality through some of the funniest, alarming and heart rending events yet remains in his own understanding of the world, of his own life and of how people live and behave for far longer than we might expect.

His awakening comes slowly yet not fully and throughout everything Naidu experiences in London he retains a sense of bewilderment and a level of naivety that is a little baffling and yet endearing.

This book is jam packed full of wonderful characters – Ammi, Sharmila, Billo, Mr and Mrs Mystery, Lord and Lady Weinberg, Mrs Pereira, Father O’Brian and the glorious Mrs Watanabe and so many more terrific people brought to life in full (techni) colour and Bollywood pizzazz. I eagerly read chapter after chapter absorbed by Kavi Naidu’s story, of the people he knew and those he came to know, of his life, his family and his ability to be so self absorbed and yet still be a humble and naive soul who had a great capacity to draw people to him in love and friendship. He had rivals particularly Seth and even though Naidu had, since arriving in London, found himself in more than one dilemma Seth was not only his nemesis, haughty and was to be found far more unscrupulous than even Naidu had believed and Seth’s storyline had a well deserved ending.

When Naidu finally returns to Delhi he has come to terms with his own fate, his life has changed, his poetry bringing a kind of success and finally there are events that are devastating and joyful or at least hopeful. Naidu’s story ends and yet is not finished which I found to be quite satisfying.

This is a wonderful book that takes a slice of the life of a naive, self absorbed, flawed and yet still a very human Indian man at home and abroad. With warmth, wit and compassion Rashma Ruia has brought us an honest, authentic and wonderful story well worth reading.

Thanks

Many thanks to Will at Renard Press for a copy of Something Black in the Lentil Soup by Reshma Ruia in order to read and share my thoughts.

Information

Published: Renard Press | 16 September 2026 |Paperback ISBN: 9781804472019 | 224 pp | £10

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Author: Reshma Ruia is an award-winning author and poet. She has a PhD and Master’s in Creative Writing from Manchester University, as well as a Bachelor and Master’s from the London School of Economics. Her first novel, Something Black in the Lentil Soup, was described in theSunday Times as ‘a gem of straight-faced comedy’. She has published a poetry collection, A Dinner Party in the Home Counties, and a short story collection, Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness; her work has appeared in international anthologies and journals, and she has had work commissioned by the BBC. She is the co-founder of The Whole Kahani – a writers’ collective of British South Asian writers. Born in India and brought up in Rome, her writing explores the preoccupations of those who possess a multiple sense of belonging.

Author website

OTHER RENARD PRESS TITLES BY RESHMA RUIA

Still Lives – buy: winner of the Reader’s Choice Award at the Diverse Book Awards

Other titles

A Dinner Party in the Home Counties – short story collection

Mrs Pinto Drives to Happiness – poetry collection

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