From Britain’s music scene of the 90s to China’s Cultural Revolution to the publishing worlds of New York and London, a treat of drama and comedy

A limited edition pictorial guide to Varanasi returns a rare British Library map to India after more than a century

The literary world tells us what to read this summer

A warm Indian-American debut suffers the narrative pitfalls of mental illness but finds safe harbour

Who are the new Stieg Larssons? This season’s crime novels are bigger, badder and sometimes better

The de-glamourisation of the flight attendant: Air hostesses were once carefully preserved legends, admired from a distance; now, academies turn out girls who serve 40 at a go at economy rates

A hilarious yet serious look at the indefatigable Indian mother-in-law tells us why she is a national problem

The book is engaging, despite its excessive running commentary

Akhil Sharma’s new novel Family Life, 12 years in the making, is an immigrant saga partially gone wrong

Delhi as India’s ‘rape capital’ is a sensational label that rings true for reasons both heinous and heartless. One woman’s effort to understand why so little is ever done about it