Sleeping on Jupiter

Sleeping on Jupiter (2015), a novel by Indian novelist Anuradha Roy, follows Nomi, a young filmmaker as she returns to her Indian birthplace to confront the trauma of her childhood abuse by a spiritual leader. Meanwhile, Badal, a young monk must hide his infatuation with a teenage boy, Raghu. Warmly received by critics, Sleeping on Jupiter was long-listed for the 2015 Man Booker Prize.

The novel begins as Nomi—narrating in the first person—remembers her childhood in a poor, rural part of India. When she was still a young girl, soldiers killed her entire family. She was taken in by a household of older women, but their home, too, was soon destroyed. Finally, Nomi was put on a boat to the sea-side town of Jarmuli, famed for its temples and ashrams, where she was taken in by a resident guru.

In the present day, Nomi is 25 and heading back to Jarmuli for the first time in over a decade, by train. Her appearance—tattooed and pierced, hair in braids, Western clothing—excites the curiosity of her fellow passengers, three elderly women named Vidya, Latika, and Gouri, who are on holiday from their home in Calcutta. As they question Nomi, we learn that she now lives in Oslo, Norway. She works for a documentary filmmaker, and she is heading to Jarmuli to do some research.



Returning to Nomi’s childhood, we learn about her life at the ashram, and “Guruji,” the spiritual leader who took her in. When Nomi first met Guruji, she felt he "could see into me, through my tunic and my skin and bones, right inside." Nomi developed a close friendship there with Piku, another orphan of about her age. Piku was mute.

Nomi arrives in Jarmuli and meets up with Suraj, a man from Calcutta who has been hired to assist Nomi with her research. They set out to tour a local temple, but the temple’s tour-guide, a young monk named Badal, explains that as a woman, Nomi cannot enter unless she is covered from the neck down. Nomi tells Suraj to explore the temple without her.

The narrative shifts to the third person and follows Badal as he makes his way to an electronics store, where he buys a mobile phone. We learn that the phone is a gift for a teenage boy, Raghu. Badal recalls their meeting, two months earlier, and a countryside walk they took together, which culminated in a kiss.



We return to Nomi’s point of view as she passes the tea stall where Raghu works for a tea-seller, Johnny Toppo. She is remembering how Guruji began to abuse her, forcing her to touch his genitals and telling her it was a secret spiritual ritual.

Meanwhile, Suraj is despairing about the breakdown of his marriage, and his stalled career. He is also sliding into alcoholism.

Nomi meets Suraj in his hotel room and explains that she is from Jarmuli. She recounts how she was adopted by a foster mother, who took her all over the world.



As Nomi and Suraj walk through Jarmuli, they are spotted by two of the elderly holidaymakers, Latika and Gouri. They recognize Suraj: He is the son of their friend Vidya. They are worried to see him with a strange woman who is not his wife, but they decide not to mention it to their friend.

Nomi meets Johnny Toppo. He reminds her of the kindly gardener from Guruji’s ashram, but when she tries to establish his identity he answers evasively. Nomi drives around Jarmuli until she finds the building that used to be the ashram. There, she remembers Guruji raping her when she was 12.

Meanwhile, Suraj’s despair mounts, and he makes a half-hearted attempt to kill himself.



The next day, Nomi and Suraj set out to visit another temple. Afterward, Nomi accidentally leaves her laptop with Suraj, who decides to snoop through her files.

Badal visits Raghu again, hoping that the gift of the phone will further their affair, but to his dismay, Raghu acts as if he doesn’t know his benefactor. Badal insists that they have a romantic connection, but Raghu denies it. Badal decides to leave Jarmuli for good.

Nomi returns to Suraj’s room to retrieve her computer. Suraj is drunk and caught in the act of snooping, he attacks Nomi. She snatches up a knife and cuts his arm before she makes her escape.



The narrative returns to Nomi’s childhood, and we learn how she and a girl named Champa escaped the ashram together. Nomi had pledged to return for Piku, but before she could, she was adopted and taken abroad.

In the present day, Vidya and Latika set out in a storm to look for Gouri. The novel’s final moment returns to Nomi, still in India and alone now, searching for Piku.