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Book Reviews

History as Palimpsest

Narayani Basu

Over one hundred scholars map the origins and evolution of India

The Indians: Histories of a Civilisation
Edited by GN Devy, Tony Joseph and Ravi Korisettar
Assassin /
Assassin
KR Meera | Translated from Malayalam by J Devika
KR Meera: Write and Subvert

KR Meera’s new novel opens with an attempted murder. The author speaks about the trigger of the plot, the pains of writing and the importance of truth telling

Water in a Broken Pot: A Memoir /
Water in a Broken Pot: A Memoir
Yogesh Maitreya
Finding Home

The memoir of a Dalit writer on alienation, deprivation and reconciliation

Quarterlife /
Quarterlife
Devika Rege
Matters of the Mind

The novel as a character study of the country

Smoke and Ashes: A Writer’s Journey through Opium’s Hidden Histories /
Smoke and Ashes: A Writer’s Journey through Opium’s Hidden Histories
Amitav Ghosh
‘This idea of progress is one of the most terrible myths,’ says Amitav Ghosh

Amitav Ghosh talks about his new book that charts the transformative effect of the poppy on the making of the world in a conversation with

Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink  /
Marginlands: Indian Landscapes on the Brink
Arati Kumar-Rao
Ear to the Ground

An environmentalist charts the stories of India’s vulnerable lands

Unspoken  /
Unspoken
Sharmistha Gooptu
Mothers and Daughters

A journey into lost love and its lingering trauma

The Indian President: An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years (1982-87) /
The Indian President: An Insider’s Account of the Zail Singh Years (1982-87)
KC Singh
The President’s Man

Giani Zail Singh’s tenure reveals the limits and possibilities of the highest office

History’s Angel /
History’s Angel
Anjum Hasan
Prisoner of the Present

Anjum Hasan’s new novel is about a middle-aged history teacher living in Delhi

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