books

Liberty Lost

Arshia Sattar

Wendy Doniger’s book on the Kamasutra reminds us of the dignities once afforded to women in our culture

Love in Burma

Himanshu Bhagat

This fable-like bestseller about separated lovers is charming, but doesn’t quite find its heart

The Revolving Stage

Shougat Dasgupta

Carrying a torch for Calcutta’s decadent old playhouses

Books: The International List

Rajni George

Another stark beauty from Ireland’s literary queen, Murakami’s literary debut in English for the first time, a sad and lengthy tale of a band of brothers and Coetzee’s experiments with truth

The Write Education

S Prasannarajan

A liberal education helps you write a good sentence, form a narrative out of whirling thoughts

Behind the Vale

Sunanda K Datta-Ray

This former RAW chief’s pacy account on Kashmir is not consistently insightful but his pessimism is not off the mark

The Basti and the City

Shougat Dasgupta

A capacious debut novel provides Karachi with a cast of rough characters

Harper Lee: Killing Her Darlings

Rajni George

Harper Lee’s prequel-sequel to the timeless To Kill a Mockingbird explodes the myth of the indefatigable Atticus Finch—and defines the function of a classic