Reviews of Fiction and Non-Fiction Books by The Hindu seo.section.displayname=Book Reviews

‘Places of Mind: A Life of Edward Said’ review: In exile, rooted to Palestine

A new biography of Edward Said maps his Arab and American selves and illustrates how his writings on Palestine, music, public intellectuals, and literature intertwine

‘Big Cat Tales: Vintage Encounters and Stories’ review: Into the wild

A collection gathers man-animal encounters with and stories of tigers, leopards, lions and others

‘Impact of COVID-19, Reforms and Poor Governance on Labour Rights in India’ review: Sweeping changes in labour laws and their impact on rights

An economist decodes the reforms and rues the absence of effective consultations with trade unions on issues concerning workers and the economy

‘Hostility – A Diplomat’s Diary on India-Pakistan Relations’ review: Why India, Pakistan relations are fraught and interrupted

A former Pakistan High Commissioner to India writes a candid account of his posting, the Kashmir issue, and the politics of the foreign office

Uncle Sam and the philosopher’s stone: Review of Sanjena Sathian’s ‘Gold Diggers’

You hear several characters echo the same question: what does it mean to be both Indian and American?

Djinn without tonic: Ranjana Sengupta reviews A.A. Jafri’s ‘Of Smokeless Fire’

The book ranges over an extended checklist of themes centred on Pakistan, with all of them jostling for attention

‘All Roads Lead North: Nepal’s Turn to China’ review: Nepal’s links with China

A journalist’s scholarly research takes the long view on a small country’s foreign relations, even as it often finds itself caught between two neighbourhood giants

‘Intimations: Six Essays’ review: Work from home and other anxieties

Essays on the lockdown and how the virus has impacted lives

‘Rajatharangini’ review: A Sanskrit classic from Kashmir revisited in Malayalam

The translation of Rajatarangini, a 12th century historical chronicle that includes myths and folk tales, will open it up to a new generation of readers

We’re all mad here: Review of Manu Bhattathiri’s ‘The Oracle of Karuthupuzha’

Manu Bhattathiri strikes again, taking us back to that haven of oddballs, Karuthupuzha

This was not designed to please you: Review of Jerry Pinto’s ‘I Want a Poem and Other Poems’

Jerry Pinto converses with his selves and punctures a few romantic notions of love, leaving and poetry in the process

‘The Mystery of the Parsee Lawyer: Arthur Conan Doyle, George Edalji and the Foreigner in the English Village’ review: When the creator of Sherlock Holmes stepped in to solve a real-life case

A historian recalls how Arthur Conan Doyle helped a Parsi lawyer, George Edalji, clear his name after being convicted for the crime of animal mutilation

‘Making Excellence a Habit: The Secret to Building a World-Class Healthcare System in India’ review: Always on call, a doctor’s life

In his memoir, Dr. V. Mohan underlines that the cornerstone of patient care is empathy

‘India and Asian Geopolitics: The Past, Present’ review: India in a changing world

A former National Security Adviser and top diplomat traces the changes in India’s foreign policy, maps its present-day challenges, and suggests prescriptions for the future

The gospel according to the women: Latha Anantharaman reviews Jeet Thayil’s ‘Names of the Women’

Jeet Thayil creates living, breathing souls, often from raw material that is no more than a line and a half of biblical text

‘Blindness’ by José Saramago

At a traffic signal in an unnamed city, as the green light comes on, a car is unable to move. The driver frantically tries to explain what is holding

I’m attracted to the ways in which the mysteries of water parallel the secrets of the human experience: An Yu

Chinese author An Yu’s debut novel about loneliness and redemption speaks eloquently to our pandemic-ravaged minds

‘Born a Muslim: Some Truths about Islam in India’ review: A sense of disillusionment

Ghazala Wahab explains what it is to be a Muslim, a member of the largest religious minority in India today, and why the community lives in fear as prejudices persist

‘The Forts of Rajasthan’ review: Sonar Kella and other forts

A virtual tour of famous Rajasthan citadels and their back stories

‘Republic of Hindutva: How the Sangh is Reshaping Indian Democracy’ review: Ways and means to navigate a democratic and social polity

A historian attempts to re-brand the RSS by foregrounding its humanitarian work while ring-fencing it from links with sectarian violence

Setting them free: Review of ‘A Red-necked Green Bird’ by Ambai, trs G.J.V. Prasad

Psychologically candid stories that capture the uncertainties of the mind

When the sky poured acid: Review of ‘How Beautiful We Were’ by Imbolo Mbue

Both a powerful polemic and a nuanced exploration of human nature

She’s leaving home: Review of Jhumpa Lahiri’s ‘Whereabouts’

Jhumpa Lahiri’s latest is a sharp, unapologetic novel, which makes no attempt to please

‘Buddha in Gandhara’ review: Journeys on the Silk Road

A writer travels through erstwhile Buddhist domains looking for Indian philosophical influences

‘A Pandemic and the Politics of Life’ review: A raging virus and its impact on the marginalised

Why logistical steps to fight COVID-19 must be accompanied by the state taking responsibility for migrant workers and the poor

Reviews of ‘Beyond Pan-Asianism: Connecting China and India, 1840s-1960s’, and ‘Tea-War: A History of Capitalism in China and India’: India’s forgotten China links

With research and anecdotes, two books steer clear of a reductive framing of relations between old neighbours and embrace the complexities

Hopeless in hovels: Janhavi Acharekar reviews Lindsay Pereira’s ‘Gods and Ends’

With an insider’s familiarity, Lindsay Pereira presents brutally honest vignettes of Mumbai’s Roman Catholic community

Dream about me: Review of Kazuo Ishiguro’s ‘Klara and the Sun’

In this centenary year of the invention of the term ‘robot,’ Kazuo Ishiguro presents in his latest novel an Artificial Friend, created to provide companionship to a possible race of forsaken humans

‘Patriarchy and the Pangolin’ review: Ecology notes from the field

Aditi Patil and her team on what the National Agroforestry Policy means to the people on the ground

‘India and the Pandemic: The First Year’ review: A deadly pathogen and the difficult path to recovery

Expert minds from a diversity of fields weigh in on India’s COVID-19 story, and list the saving graces and the cracks in the system

‘B.R. Ambedkar: The Quest for Justice’ review: Scholar of global relevance

A five-volume study reappraises B.R. Ambedkar’s search for justice, his work on drawing up the Constitution, and his four-decade-long fight against caste

The begum and her beast: Anil Menon reviews ‘The Begum and the Dastan’ by Tarana Husain Khan

Cavils apart, this is an immersive novel, remarkable for the thoroughly Muslim world it creates

By the sweat of their brows: Sudipta Datta reviews ‘The Sickle’ by Anita Agnihotri, trs Arunava Sinha

Delving into social evils, Anita Agnihotri peels them off, layer by layer

In search of certainties: Review of ‘The Town Slowly Empties: On Life and Culture during Lockdown’ by Manash Firaq Bhattacharjee

A compelling examination of the self and the nation under lockdown

‘Polio: The Eradication Imbroglio: The Malady and its Remedy’ review: Shifting goalposts and the worldwide battle against polio

Two doctors on the fight to eradicate a deadly virus, the controversy around the vaccination platform and the crisis the programme faces

‘The Tale of the Horse: A History of India on Horseback’ review: Reimagining the horse and its unique place in Indian history

A writer explains the role of a fascinating animal in making communities, economies, identities, sport, and in challenging gender stereotypes

We are the hashtag gen: Percy Bharucha reviews ‘No One Is Talking About This’ by Patricia Lockwood

This Women’s Prize longlisted novel is fragmented, incisive, and designed to go viral

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