1 . The God of small things
Genre: Fictional
Author: Arundhati Roy
Published: 1997
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| Book Cover: The God Of Small Things source: splbookblog.com |
In the Book:
The year is 1969. In the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India, fraternal twins Esthappen and Rahel fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family. Their lonely, lovely mother, Ammu, (who loves by night the man her children love by day), fled an abusive marriage to live with their blind grandmother, Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), and their enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt). When Chacko's English ex-wife brings their daughter for a Christmas visit, the twins learn that things can change in a day, that lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever, beside their river...
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| Arundhati Roy source:wikimedia.org |
Special / Awards:
The God of Small Things is the first book of Arundhati Roy and won the Booker Prize in 1997.
2 . Train to Pakistan
Category: Historical Fiction
Author: Khushwant Singh
Published: 1956
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| Cover Page of 'Train to Pakistan' source:wikimedia.org |
In the Book:
“In the summer of 1947, when the creation of the state of Pakistan was formally announced, ten million people—Muslims and Hindus and Sikhs—were in flight. By the time the monsoon broke, almost a million of them were dead, and all of northern India was in arms, in terror, or in hiding. The only remaining oases of peace were a scatter of little villages lost in the remote reaches of the frontier. One of these villages was Mano Majra.”
It is a place, Khushwant Singh goes on to tell us at the beginning of this classic novel, where Sikhs and Muslims have lived together in peace for hundreds of years. Then one day, at the end of the summer, the “ghost train” arrives, a silent, incredible funeral train loaded with the bodies of thousands of refugees, bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. Train to Pakistan is the story of this isolated village that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endured and transcends the ravages of war.
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| Khushwant Singh source:dhakadigest.net |
Special / Awards:
A movie based on this novel and having the same title Train to Pakistan was released in 1998. It was directed by Pamela Rooks and this movie was nominated in Cinequest Film Festival, 1999 in the best feature film category.
3 . The White Tiger
Genre: Fictional
Author: Aravind Adiga
Published: 2008
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| Cover Page of 'The White Tiger' source:hourdose.com |
In the Book:
The white tiger of this novel is Balram Halwai, a poor Indian villager whose great ambition leads him to the zenith of Indian business culture, the world of the Bangalore entrepreneur. On the occasion of the president of China’s impending trip to Bangalore, Balram writes a letter to him describing his transformation and his experience as driver and servant to a wealthy Indian family, which he thinks exemplifies the contradictions and complications of Indian society.
The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation—and a startling, provocative debut.
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| Aravind Adiga source:thehindu.com |
Special / Awards:
The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the 40th Man Booker Prize in the same year.
4 . A suitable Boy
Genre: Fiction
Author: Vikram Seth
Published: 1993
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| Cover Page of 'A Suitable Boy' source:amazon.com |
About Book:
Vikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: Lata and her mother, Mrs. Rupa Mehra, are both trying to find -- through love or through exacting maternal appraisal -- a suitable boy for Lata to marry. Set in the early 1950s, in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, A Suitable Boy takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves. A sweeping panoramic portrait of a complex, multiethnic society in flux, A Suitable Boy remains the story of ordinary people caught up in a web of love and ambition, humor and sadness, prejudice and reconciliation, the most delicate social etiquette and the most appalling violence.
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| Vikram Seth source:dnaindia.com |
Special / Awards:
WH Smith Literary Award (1994), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book Overall (1994)
5 . Midnight’s Children
Genre: Magic Realism, Historiographic metafiction
Author: Salman Rushdie
Published: 1995
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| Cover Page of 'Midnight Children' source:amazon com |
In the Book:
Born at the stroke of midnight, at the precise moment of India's independence, Saleem Sinai is destined from birth to be special. For he is one of 1,001 children born in the midnight hour, children who all have special gifts, children with whom Saleem is telepathically linked.
But there has been a terrible mix-up at birth, and Saleem’s life takes some unexpected twists and turns. As he grows up amidst a whirlwind of triumphs and disasters, Saleem must learn the ominous consequences of his gift, for the course of his life is inseparably linked to that of his motherland, and his every act is mirrored and magnified in the events that shape the newborn nation of India. It is a great gift and a terrible burden.
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| Shalman Rushdi source:postimg.org |
Special / Awards:
Man Booker Prize (1981), James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (1981), The Booker of Bookers Prize (1993), The Best of the Booker (2008)
6 . The Immortals of Meluha
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Author: Amish Tripathi
Published: 2010
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| Cover Page of 'The Immortals of Meluha' source:letuspublish.com |
In the Book:
1900 BC. In what modern Indians mistakenly call the Indus Valley Civilisation. The inhabitants of that period called it the land of Meluha a near perfect empire created many centuries earlier by Lord Ram, one of the greatest monarchs that ever lived. This once proud empire and its Suryavanshi rulers face severe perils as its primary river, the revered Saraswati, is slowly drying to extinction. They also face devastating terrorist attacks from the east, the land of the Chandravanshis. To make matters worse, the Chandravanshis appear to have allied with the Nagas, an ostracized and sinister race of deformed humans with astonishing martial skills!
The only hope for the Suryavanshis is an ancient legend: When evil reaches epic proportions, when all seems lost, when it appears that your enemies have triumphed, a hero will emerge.
Is the rough-hewn Tibetan immigrant Shiva, really that hero? And does he want to be that hero at all? Drawn suddenly to his destiny, by duty as well as by love, will Shiva lead the Suryavanshi vengeance and destroy evil?
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| Amish Tripathi source:authoramish.com |
Special / Awards:
The Immortals of Meluha is the first novel of the Shiva trilogy series by Amish Tripathi. The Shiva Trilogy has become the fastest selling book series in the history of Indian publishing, with 2.5 million copies in print and over ₹60 crore (US$ 8.9 million) in sales.
7 . Malgudi Days
Genre: Fiction, Short Stories
Author: R.K. Narayan
Published: 1943
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| Cover Page of 'Malgudi Days' source:amazon.com |
About Book:
Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India “the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story.” Composed of powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people, and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi Days presents Narayan’s imaginary city in full color, revealing the essence of India and of human experience. This edition includes an introduction by Pulitzer Prize- winning author Jhumpa Lahiri.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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| R K Narayan source:firstpost.in |
Special / Awards:
The New York Times described the virtue of the book as "everyone in the book seems to have a capacity for responding to the quality of his particular hour. It's an art we need to study and revive."
Today, He is a God.
4000 years ago, He was just a man.
The hunt is on. The sinister Naga warrior has killed his friend Brahaspati and now stalks his wife Sati. Shiva, the Tibetan immigrant who is the prophesied destroyer of evil, will not rest till he finds his demonic adversary. His vengeance and the path to evil will lead him to the door of the Nagas, the serpent people. Of that he is certain.
The evidence of the malevolent rise of evil is everywhere. A kingdom is dying as it is held to ransom for a miracle drug. A crown prince is murdered. The Vasudevs Shivas philosopher guides betray his unquestioning faith as they take the aid of the dark side. Even the perfect empire, Meluha is riddled with a terrible secret in Maika, the city of births. Unknown to Shiva, a master puppeteer is playing a grand game.
Special / Awards:
8 . The Hungry Tide
Genre: Fiction
Author: Amitav Ghosh
Published: 2004
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| Cover Page of 'The Hungry Tide' source:wikimedia.org |
About Book:
Off the easternmost corner of India, in the Bay of Bengal, lies the immense labyrinth of tiny islands known as the Sundarbans, where settlers live in fear of drowning tides and man-eating tigers. Piya Roy, a young American marine biologist of Indian descent, arrives in this lush, treacherous landscape in search of a rare species of river dolphin and enlists the aid of a local fisherman and a translator. Together the three of them launch into the elaborate backwaters, drawn unawares into the powerful political undercurrents of this isolated corner of the world that exact a personal toll as fierce as the tides.
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| Amitav Ghosh source:topnews.in |
Special / Awards:
Kiriyama Prize Nominee for Fiction (2006), Crossword Book Award for Fiction (2004).
9 . The secret of the Nagas
Genre: Fiction,
Author: Amish Tripathi
Published: 2011
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| Cover Page of 'The Secret Of Nagas' source:amazon.com |
About Book:
4000 years ago, He was just a man.
The hunt is on. The sinister Naga warrior has killed his friend Brahaspati and now stalks his wife Sati. Shiva, the Tibetan immigrant who is the prophesied destroyer of evil, will not rest till he finds his demonic adversary. His vengeance and the path to evil will lead him to the door of the Nagas, the serpent people. Of that he is certain.
The evidence of the malevolent rise of evil is everywhere. A kingdom is dying as it is held to ransom for a miracle drug. A crown prince is murdered. The Vasudevs Shivas philosopher guides betray his unquestioning faith as they take the aid of the dark side. Even the perfect empire, Meluha is riddled with a terrible secret in Maika, the city of births. Unknown to Shiva, a master puppeteer is playing a grand game.
Special / Awards:
The Secret of the Nagas was in high demand before its release, with 80,000 copies pre-ordered. The book quickly reached the top of best-seller listings, selling 95,000 copies the first month, before going for a re-print. As of June 2015, over 2.5 million copies of the Shiva Trilogy have been sold at gross retail sales of over ₹60 crore (US$8.9 million)
10. Such a Long Journey
Genre: Fiction
Author: Rohinton Mistry
Published: 2006
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| Cover Page of 'Such a Long Journey' source:wordpress.com |
In the Book:
It is Bombay in 1971, the year India went to war over what was to become Bangladesh. A hard-working bank clerk, Gustad Noble is a devoted family man who gradually sees his modest life unravelling. His young daughter falls ill; his promising son defies his father’s ambitions for him. He is the one reasonable voice amidst the ongoing dramas of his neighbours. One day, he receives a letter from an old friend, asking him to help in what at first seems like an heroic mission. But he soon finds himself unwittingly drawn into a dangerous network of deception. Compassionate, and rich in details of character and place, this unforgettable novel charts the journey of a moral heart in a turbulent world of change.
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| Rohinton Mistry source:telegraph.co.uk |
Special / Awards:
Man Booker Prize Nominee (1991), Governor General's Literary Awards (1991), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book Overall (1992)
11. English August
Genre: Fiction
Author: Upamanyu Chatterjee
Published: 2006 , 1988(First Edition)
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| Cover Page of 'English-August' source:checkkkout.com |
In the Book:
Agastya Sen, known to friends by the English name August, is a child of the Indian elite. His friends go to Yale and Harvard. August himself has just landed a prize government job. The job takes him to Madna, “the hottest town in India,” deep in the sticks. There he finds himself surrounded by incompetents and cranks, time wasters, bureaucrats, and crazies. What to do? Get stoned, shirk work, collapse in the heat, stare at the ceiling. Dealing with the locals turns out to be a lot easier for August than living with himself. English, August is a comic masterpiece from contemporary India. Like A Confederacy of Dunces and The Catcher in the Rye, it is both an inspired and hilarious satire and a timeless story of self-discovery
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| Upamanyu Chatterjee source:indiatoday.in |
12. The Inheritance of Loss
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2006
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| Cover Page of 'The Inheritance Of Loss' source: cloudfront.net |
In the Book:
In a crumbling, isolated house at the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas lives an embittered judge who wants only to retire in peace, when his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, arrives on his doorstep. The judge’s cook watches over her distractedly, for his thoughts are often on his son, Biju, who is hopscotching from one gritty New York restaurant to another. Kiran Desai’s brilliant novel, published to huge acclaim, is a story of joy and despair. Her characters face numerous choices that majestically illuminate the consequences of colonialism as it collides with the modern world.
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| Kiran Desai source:outlookindia.com |
Special / Awards:
Man Booker Prize (2006), Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction Shortlist (2007), National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction (2006), Kiriyama Prize Nominee for Fiction (2007), Crossword Book Award for Popular (2006)
13. Interpreter of Maladies
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2000
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| cover page of 'Intrpreter Of Maladiese' source:amazon.com |
In the Book:
Mr. Kapasi, the protagonist of Jhumpa Lahiri's title story, would certainly have his work cut out for him if he were forced to interpret the maladies of all the characters in this eloquent debut collection. Take, for example, Shoba and Shukumar, the young couple in "A Temporary Matter" whose marriage is crumbling in the wake of a stillborn child. Or Miranda in "Sexy," who is involved in a hopeless affair with a married man. But Mr. Kapasi has problems enough of his own; in addition to his regular job working as an interpreter for a doctor who does not speak his patients' language, he also drives tourists to local sites of interest. His fare on this particular day is Mr. and Mrs. Das--first-generation Americans of Indian descent--and their children. During the course of the afternoon, Mr. Kapasi becomes enamored of Mrs. Das and then becomes her unwilling confidant when she reads too much into his profession. "I told you because of your talents," she informs him after divulging a startling secret.
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| Jhumpa Lahiri source:thehindu.com |
Special / Awards:
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2000), PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award (2000), Puddly Award for Short Stories (2001)
14. The three Mistakes of my Life
Genre: Fiction
Author: Chetan Bhagat
Published: 2008
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| Cover Page of '3 Mistakes of My Life' source:wikimedia.org |
In the Book:
In late-2000, a young boy in Ahmedabad called Govind dreamt of having a business. To accomodate his friends Ish and Omi's passion, they open a cricket shop. Govind's wants to make money and thinks big. Ish is all about nurturing Ali, the batsman with a rare gift. Omi knows his limited capabiltiies and just wants to be with his friends. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. To realize their goals, they will have to face it all - religious politics, earthquakes, riots, unacceptable love and above all, their own mistakes. Will they make it? Can an individual's dreams overcome the nightmares offered by real life? Can we succeed despite a few mistakes?
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| Chetan Bhagat source:btown.com |
Special / Awards:
The 3 Mistakes of My Life is the third novel written by Chetan Bhagat. The book was published in May 2008 and had an initial print-run of 420,000.
15. Wings of Fire
Genre: Biography
Author: A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Published: 2011
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| Cover page of 'Wings of Fire' source:amazon.com |
In the Book:
Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, the son of a little-educated boat-owner in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, had an unparalleled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. As chief of the country's defence research and development programme, Kalam demonstrated the great potential for dynamism and innovation that existed in seemingly moribund research establishments. This is the story of Kalam's rise from obscurity and his personal and professional struggles, as well as the story of Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag-missiles that have become household names in India and that have raised the nation to the level of a missile power of international reckoning. This is also the saga of independent India's struggle for technological self-sufficiency and defensive autonomy-a story as much about politics, domestic and international, as it is about science.
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| APJ Abdul Kalam source:indiatoday.in |
Special / Awards:
Sir APJ Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007.
16. The Story of My Experiments with Truth
Genre: Nonfiction, Biography
Author: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Mahatma
Gandhi)
Published: 1990 (First published-1940)
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| Cover Page of 'The Autobiography Of Mahatma Gandhi' source:wordpress.com |
In the Book:
Mohandas K. Gandhi is one of the most inspiring figures of our time. In his classic autobiography he recounts the story of his life and how he developed his concept of active nonviolent resistance, which propelled the Indian struggle for independence and countless other nonviolent struggles of the twentieth century.
In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of testing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances," in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities.
All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.
In a new foreword, noted peace expert and teacher Sissela Bok urges us to adopt Gandhi's "attitude of experimenting, of testing what will and will not bear close scrutiny, what can and cannot be adapted to new circumstances," in order to bring about change in our own lives and communities.
All royalties earned on this book are paid to the Navajivan Trust, founded by Gandhi, for use in carrying on his work.
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| Mahatma Gandhi source:history.co.uk |
Special / Awards:
Mahatma Gandhi is known as the ‘Father of the nation’ in India.
'in the book' is the matter from Goodreads
17. A Fine Balance
Genre: Fiction, Cultural
Author: Rohinton Mistry
Published: 2001
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| Cover Page of 'A Fine Story' source:wikimedia.org |
In the Book:
With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism, of India.
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers--a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village--will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state.
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| Rohinton Mistry source:telegraph.co.uk |
Special / Awards:
Man Booker Prize Nominee (1996), International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Nominee (1997), Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize (1996), Scotiabank Giller Prize (1995), Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction (1996), Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book Overall (1996)
18. The Blue Umbrella
Genre: Cultural
Author: Ruskin Bond
Published: 1980
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| Cover Page of 'The Blue Umbrella' source:wikimedia.org |
In the Book:
'The umbrella was like a flower, a great blue flower that had sprung up on the dry brown hillside.'
In exchange for her lucky leopard's claw pendant, Binya acquires a beautiful blue umbrella that makes her the envy of everyone in the village, especially Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper. It is the prettiest umbrella in the whole village and she carries it everywhere she goes.
The Blue Umbrella is a short and humorous novella set in the hills of Garhwal. Written in simple yet witty language, it captures life in a village - where ordinary characters become heroic, and others find opportunities to redeem themselves.
In exchange for her lucky leopard's claw pendant, Binya acquires a beautiful blue umbrella that makes her the envy of everyone in the village, especially Ram Bharosa, the shopkeeper. It is the prettiest umbrella in the whole village and she carries it everywhere she goes.
The Blue Umbrella is a short and humorous novella set in the hills of Garhwal. Written in simple yet witty language, it captures life in a village - where ordinary characters become heroic, and others find opportunities to redeem themselves.
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| Ruskin Bond source:wordpress.com |
19. Five point Someone
Genre: Fiction
Author: Chetan Bhagat
Published: 2004
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| Cover Page of 'Five Point Someone' source:one.sdlcdn.com |
In the Book:
Five Point Someone is a story about three friends in IIT who are unable to cope.
The book starts with a disclaimer, “This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don’t think straight.”
Three hostelmates – Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT – they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the end of their class. This GPA is a tattoo that will remain with them, and come in the way of anything else that matters – their friendship, their future, their love life. While the world expects IITians to conquer the world, these guys are struggling to survive.
Will they make it? Do under performers have a right to live? Can they show that they are not just a five-point-somebody but a five-point-someone?
The book starts with a disclaimer, “This is not a book to teach you how to get into IIT or even how to live in college. In fact, it describes how screwed up things can get if you don’t think straight.”
Three hostelmates – Alok, Hari and Ryan get off to a bad start in IIT – they screw up the first class quiz. And while they try to make amends, things only get worse. It takes them a while to realize: If you try and screw with the IIT system, it comes back to double screw you. Before they know it, they are at the lowest echelons of IIT society. They have a five-point-something GPA out of ten, ranking near the end of their class. This GPA is a tattoo that will remain with them, and come in the way of anything else that matters – their friendship, their future, their love life. While the world expects IITians to conquer the world, these guys are struggling to survive.
Will they make it? Do under performers have a right to live? Can they show that they are not just a five-point-somebody but a five-point-someone?
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| Chetan Bhagat source:btown.com |
Special / Awards:
Indo-American Society's Society Young Achiever's Award (2004),The Publisher's Recognition Award (2005)
20. Swami and Friends
Genre: Fiction
Author: R K Narayan
Published: 1994, 1935 (first published)
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| Cover Page of 'Swami And Friends' source:wordpress.com |
In the Book:
Offering rare insight into the complexities of Indian middle-class society, R. K. Narayan traces life in the fictional town of Malgudi. The Dark Room is a searching look at a difficult marriage and a woman who eventually rebels against the demands of being a good and obedient wife. In Mr. Sampath, a newspaper man tries to keep his paper afloat in the face of social and economic changes sweeping India. Narayan writes of youth and young adulthood in the semiautobiographical Swami and Friends and The Bachelor of Arts. Although the ordinary tensions of maturing are heightened by the particular circumstances of pre-partition India, Narayan provides a universal vision of childhood, early love and grief.
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R K Narayan
source:firstpost.in
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Special / Awards:
"The experience of reading one of his novels is . . . comparable to one's first reaction to the great Russian novels: the fresh realization of the common humanity of all peoples, underlain by a simultaneous sense of strangeness—like one's own reflection seen in a green twilight."
—Margaret Parton, New York Herald Tribune
'in the book' is the matter from Goodreads
