A number of you have been asking me to recommend a list of books to read during #Lockdown, in more detail than my brief interview with @IndiaToday did earlier this week. One of you, @MihirMisra_, sent requests through a friend for ten books! So here is a thread listing ten books:
1.The Mahabharata transcreated by P. Lal
A wonderfully racy, contemporary translation of the timeless epic, melding poetry and prose and full of contemporary idiom, Prof. Lal’s is unarguably the best and most readable one-volume version of the Mahabharata.
A wonderfully racy, contemporary translation of the timeless epic, melding poetry and prose and full of contemporary idiom, Prof. Lal’s is unarguably the best and most readable one-volume version of the Mahabharata.
2.The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru
The brilliant mind of the great nationalist sparkles in this evocation of the cultural, political and civilizational heritage of our nation.
The brilliant mind of the great nationalist sparkles in this evocation of the cultural, political and civilizational heritage of our nation.
3.One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Magnificent, uplifting and profoundly moving, sweeping in its recreation of a magical world of never-ending enchantment, the “novel of the century”.
Magnificent, uplifting and profoundly moving, sweeping in its recreation of a magical world of never-ending enchantment, the “novel of the century”.
4.The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
Dry wit, spare prose, penetrating political insight characterize this unsparing portrait of Eastern Europe under Soviet Communist domination.
Dry wit, spare prose, penetrating political insight characterize this unsparing portrait of Eastern Europe under Soviet Communist domination.
5.The Legends of Khassak by O.V. Vijayan
Even before Garcia Marquez’s genius touched Indian minds in English translation, an author-cartoonist had invented magical realism in Malayalam, in this fantastic yet searing tale of a Kerala village schoolteacher. A genuine classic.
Even before Garcia Marquez’s genius touched Indian minds in English translation, an author-cartoonist had invented magical realism in Malayalam, in this fantastic yet searing tale of a Kerala village schoolteacher. A genuine classic.
6.Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
I reviewed this book when it came out in 1981&called it “The Great Indian Novel”! The novel that expanded the realm of the possible in Indian English writing, lifting the literary shackles for the generations to follow. A masterpiece.
I reviewed this book when it came out in 1981&called it “The Great Indian Novel”! The novel that expanded the realm of the possible in Indian English writing, lifting the literary shackles for the generations to follow. A masterpiece.
7.The Man Who Knew Infinity by Robert Kanigel
I am no mathematician, but Kanigel’s superb retelling of the life of the mathematical genius Ramanujam hooked me from start to finish, filling me with wonder at his blessed talent and with despair at the tragic waste of his life.
I am no mathematician, but Kanigel’s superb retelling of the life of the mathematical genius Ramanujam hooked me from start to finish, filling me with wonder at his blessed talent and with despair at the tragic waste of his life.
8.The One Hundred Year Old Man who Stepped out of a Window&Disappeared by Jonas Jonsson
Madcap humour,told in a deadpan style that takes hilarity to a new level, unmatched for its wit,inventive plotting&a skewed take on 20thc. history: ForrestGump meets Zelig in a Swedish farce
Madcap humour,told in a deadpan style that takes hilarity to a new level, unmatched for its wit,inventive plotting&a skewed take on 20thc. history: ForrestGump meets Zelig in a Swedish farce
9.The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen
Wonderfully written, lucidly argued, meticulously researched and thoughtfully-constructed essays on essential aspects of Indian intellectual and cultural life by the Nobelist and polymath. Illuminating and humane.
Wonderfully written, lucidly argued, meticulously researched and thoughtfully-constructed essays on essential aspects of Indian intellectual and cultural life by the Nobelist and polymath. Illuminating and humane.
10.A Corner of a Forgotten Field by Ramachandra Guha
A marvelous telling of the history of the sport I am most passionate about, in the country I am most passionate about! Almost everything you need to know about the evolution of Indian cricket. Wonderful!
A marvelous telling of the history of the sport I am most passionate about, in the country I am most passionate about! Almost everything you need to know about the evolution of Indian cricket. Wonderful!
Missing from this list is any one of at least 20 books by P.G. Wodehouse, who published 95, all of which I have devoured. My favourite author overall for his sustained brilliance,his mastery of language&the sheer pleasure imparted by his hilariously-plotted novels. Undiluted joy!
