Books Library

by Anita Desai

Fasting, Feasting was shortlisted for the Booker Prize award in 1999. It is a story which reveals the deeply entrenched patriarchal family system of India. Set in a small town, it narrates the life of Uma, a grey haired spinster who feels smothered and imprisoned by her parents. The novel seeks to show how daughters in Indian families are always burdened with many responsibilities and eventually are forced to sacrifice their own aspirations and dreams in this process. It is an endearing novel which seeks to open a conversation between family values, cultural norms and individual aspirations.

Shiva Trilogy by Amish Tripathi is number one in top 10 most selling Novel by Indian Author worldwide. Three books were published – Immprtals of Meluha, Secret Of Nagas and Oath Of Vayuputras. Combine sell of three books were more than 2.5 Million, more than any other novel by Indian Authors. If we take one book at time, all three of them will feature in this top 10 list seperately.

Story of Five Point Someone was based on three students of IIT Bombay from Mechanical Engineering branch. This was the first Novel written by Chetan Bhagat and is also the most selling novel in country. Himself as an alumnus of IIT story in some way refer to the real life event of Chetan Bhagat though he never said that. 

Train to Pakistan is critically acclaimed and one of the most selling novel in India. It was set against the backdrop of 1947 Partition of India Pakistan when many Hindu and Muslims were forced to leave their country. It is a fictional story set in a village of sikh and muslim where partition affect were less but political turn around set them apart from each other. Novel showed many true faces of  that times politics. It remains one of my favorite novel.

The Shadow Lines is a novel written by Bengali Author Amitav Ghosh. Ghosh won Sahitya Akademi Award for this novel. It is a book that captures perspective of time and events, of lines that bring people together and hold them apart, lines that are clearly visible from one perspective and nonexistent from another. Lines that exist in the memory of one, and therefore in another’s imagination.The novel is set against the backdrop of historical events like Swadeshi movement, Second World War, Partition of India and Communal riots of 1963-64 in Dhaka and Calcutta.

A fine balance was second novel by Indian author Rohinon Mistry. Novel was about four different character and their life in the period of 1975 to 1984 when Emergency was enforced in india and then it saw political instability. The bond that grew between four person of different profession in different circumstances is theme of novel which is told in perfection.
An acclaimed stage adaptation of the novel by the Tamasha Theatre Company was produced at the Hampstead Theatre in London, England in 2006 and later revived in 2007

It was first novel by Pulitzer award winner author Jhumpa Lahiri. Jhumpa lahiri wrote a novel with full of Emotion ad culture of different countries, there language and life style. The novel was about how a person is caught between two different culture, languages and ideological differences.
The novel describes the struggles and hardships of a Bengali couple who immigrate to the United States to form a life outside of everything they are accustomed to
In 2006 a movie was released directed by Mira Nair on the same plot.

The Guide was written by R.K. Narayan and first published in 1958. The novel was about a person Raju who was a tour guide and then converted into spiritual guru and then one of the most Holy Men of India. Plot  was based in the fictional village of R.k Narayan Malgudi. Novel received critical acclaimed and awarded Sahitya Akademi Award. Later in 1965 a movie based on this novel was filmed starring Dev Anand as raju.