I read all the books that you mentioned, I like Samrat Upadhyaya better than Manjushree. Munjushree though tries to protray she has   the knowledge of nepalese history and culture, as a matter of fact she does not have. Her western criteria and western influence well stands out often, in one point, if i say she does not have " the flavor of soil". I think she writes for the elites-or upper middle class and they are her audience, but she does not have any idea what happens in rural corn field in Nepal, not to mention her upbringing in the west has tremendous influence into her way of thinking. Yet she keeps on trying-which I think is good. If you want to learn english then she might be the one, but I really could not enjoy her substance. While Samrat does the things very differently in fiction department. Palpasa is ok, but over rated. Nontheless, since we have very few writers in english, we do not have any choice. In nepali,  parijat, lila bdr chettri, BP are still my favorites.