Upadhyay's short story "The Good Shopkeeper" was first published in the literary magazine Manoa in 1999. However, in 2001, this same story was also published in a collection of Upadhyay's short stories called Arresting God in Kathmandu. This is Upadhyay's first book published in English, which went on to win the Whiting Award. A common theme runs through these stories: Upadhyay explores the changes that Nepalese face and the effects of those changes on their private lives.

In 2003, Upadhyay published his first English novel, The Guru of Love. In this story, a math teacher living in Nepal has an illicit affair with a young girl. But this is more than a love story. The setting of Nepal is significant as it reveals weaknesses of the government and the strength of the Nepalese people as they try to bridge their ancient traditions with...