By Kishwar Desai

Rs 350

The detective novel as a genre was not a traditional staple of Indian English fiction. It is only in recent years that a few excellent whodunits have begun to surface, tentatively probing crime and punishment in the subcontinent.

pp. 385, `499

Bombay is on the brink of annihilation.

The streets of Mumbai are paved with gold; they are also awash with youngsters who come to the city in their hundreds, perhaps thousands, hoping that some of that gold dust will rub on to them.

To say that one enjoys John le Carré’s novels as espionage thrillers is akin to claiming that one takes delight in Charlie Chaplin’s films as slapstick comedies. To be sure, Le Carré has written exceptional spycraft stories, but what raises them to the level of high literature is his nuanced unfolding of the fallibility of good but weak individuals caught in webs of deceit spun by vastly more powerful people and institutions, just as Chaplin’s films become elevating cinema because they capture the triumphs of small people over tyrants.

Rs 350

Javed Anand

In the past two decades or so, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the sangh parivar as a whole and its ideological affiliates have frequently been dubbed as “fascist forces”. Protagonists of Hindutva denounce the claim as “malicious canard”. Citing the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, they argue that the real enemy of Indian democracy is the Congress Party.

Rs 495

Aakar Patel

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is the most talented politician of our time and the most enigmatic.
Most talented because he has been able to create for himself an appeal that goes beyond his state and his caste. Of no other regional politician can we say that s/he has a national following based purely on achievement and image.

Rs 250

Karishma Attari

There are cities within cities and we live out the span of our lives within those cities. It takes national celebrations or local catastrophes to jar us into noticing people that live outside our cocoon; a World Cup win or candlelight vigil are occasions to acknowledge our neighbours.

Sage, pp. 348, `799

Much blood has flown with water into the Brahmaputra basin just as much has happened over the decades to undo the efforts of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi in ensuring that Assam remained part of India a

Mystery shadows A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea, a novel about a girl growing up in rural post-revolutionary Iran while dreaming about her identical twin sister and the wonderful life she must be leading

Tranquebar Press, `495

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is the most talented politician of our time and the most enigmatic.