Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending the virtual launch of Niranjan Kunwar‘s memoir ‘Between Queens and the Cities‘ alongside writer Manjushree Thapa. I was curious to dive into the life of another queer man; wondering if our queer journeys had a common theme. Kunwar, who I have only known in the recent few years, writes his first memoir beautifully. He captures the normal, from the daily conversations to the commute and make’s it relatable. But he also writes carefully, pulling back from being too personal.
Personally, Niranjan’s memoir was a moment for me. It gave me hope that more LGBTQI+ people from Nepal will pick up a pen or a camera and shape their own story, use their voice and let the world in… Through individuals telling their stories, I hope people get more insight on queer lives and the different ways we are navigating through this journey of life.
It has been few weeks since the book launch and readers are sharing their reviews as well as reviews on several publications. “Between Queens and the Cities” is available on Thuprai, Daraz and Amazon (internationally) as well. I hope the publishers are able to deliver this via an audiobook soon; I would think this would appeal more to the millennial and GenZ crowd.
Even in my slow pace, I managed to read the memoir in record-speed. I enjoyed the identity crisis, the confusion about home and placing ‘home’; I believe those are themes that will relate to many readers. I pleasant enjoyed reading about a gay man… a Nepali gay man, who I could relate to from the context of being from Nepal. I’ve spent far too many pages and hours observing gay men who do not share my tongue or my heritage. While Niranjan and my queer story is very different, it is also similar in so many ways.
Get the book today.
Watch Niranjan’s interview on ShilaPatra below!
