Coovadia has travelled and lived widely, as extensively as, London, Melbourne, Boston, New York City, Durban and Cape Town. His writing reflects this in its diverse themes and influences. His early novels were focused more on South African Indian experiences. He was also influenced stylistically by V. S. Naipaul and others. His first novel, The Wedding, was published in 2001. The novel was well received, garnering a variety of accolades such as runner-up in the Sunday Times Fiction Award (2002), longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award, a finalist for the first annual Connecticut Book Award, and short-listed for the Ama-Boeke Prize (2003).
