Karan Mahajan
I am reading Tavleen Singh’s Durbar . The book hurls you through twenty years of Indian history — from the Emergency to Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination — with an urgency that could only be transmitted by someone who was defiantly there. Last I read D.W. Gibson’s The Edge Becomes The Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the 21st Century. I loved it. A non-fiction book, it had the vivid, continuous feel of a stream-of-consciousness novel, as if the author had interviewed all of New York on a single day. Next I’d like to read... about a hundred things! But if I had to name one: Fever — Mahakaler Rather Ghoda by Samaresh Basu, translated by the indefatigable Arunava Sinha.
Karan Mahajan is the author of ‘The Association of Small Bombs’ and a panellist at The Hindu Lit for Life 2017.
Vivek Shanbhag
I am reading Eka Kurniawan’s novel Man Tiger , a beautiful tale set in an Indonesian town. Last I read Elena Ferrante’s Frantumaglia , a book of reflections, interviews and letters of this celebrated Italian writer. The book provides a glimpse into the craft of Ferrante and answers many of her readers’ questions. You will enjoy the book more if you have read the Neapolitan Quartet. I am looking forward to reading a Kannada book, Baalu , an autobiography of one of Kannada’s important critics, G. H. Nayak.
Vivek Shanbhag is the author of ‘Ghachar Ghochar’ and a panellist at The Hindu Lit for Life 2017
