Francis Itty Cora, TD Ramakrishnan, translated from the Malayalam by Priya K Nair
When ex-US Marine Xavier Itty Cora realizes that the secret to resolving his personal troubles lies in the story of his ancestor, the scandalous, cunning pepper merchant Francis Itty Cora, he becomes obsessed with unearthing the truth. As Xavier begins to turn the pages of history with the help of Kochi-based sensual scholars and their friends and lovers, an intricate tale shrouded in secrecy and myths is unveiled. He discovers a man who is as befuddling as he is bedazzling: a mathematical genius, a figure revered by a mysterious cult and a person of rampant sexual desires.
Set in present-day Kerala, war-torn Iraq, ancient Alexandria and Renaissance Florence, TD Ramakrishnan’s Francis Itty Cora is a provocative reimagining of history.
The Outsiders, Devi Yesodharan
Nita, a teacher in Kerala, is desperate for a better-paying job and accepts one in Dubai. It is the 1990s, and Dubai is just becoming a boom town. Everything is changing. But Nita struggles to adjust to the city as an immigrant. Her job as a live-in tutor for a young girl puts her in an unfamiliar, servile role with a wealthy family. Nita starts telling the child’s mother a story from ancient India, where Darius, a sailor, arrives at an Indian port seeking his fortune. As she tells this tale, making it up as she goes, she finds that she’s no longer alone.
This is a two-headed story – the narrators Nita and Darius are nested inside each other like Russian dolls. They are both outsiders in unfamiliar places. They make dangerous choices that take them to the breaking point. And as Nita feels her safety unravel, it does for Darius as well.
Kurinji Malar, NA Parthasarathy, translated from the Tamil by Malini Seshadri
Barely out of her teens, Poorani is plunged into crisis with the sudden passing of her father. As she brings her life back on course, fate arranges a meeting with Aravindan. Gentle and idealistic, Aravindan makes it his goal to right the wrongs in society. Spirited and refined, Poorani blazes a trail to recognition and renown with her public-speaking know-how. Their friendship soon blossoms into love. But can a world riddled with opportunism and deceit ever hold their dreams and ideals?
Written more than six decades ago and set in Madurai and the surrounding areas of the Tamil land, this classic romance – peopled by an array of compelling characters – was first serialized in a magazine in the 1960s and later attained further popularity on-screen. Believed to be NA Parthasarathy’s magnum opus, Kurinji Malar is a sweeping saga that conjures an unforgettable landscape of hope and heartbreak – a delicate balance only a master storyteller can offer.
Island, Sujit Saraf
Nirmal Chandra Mattoo has lived in Port Blair, in the Andamans, for thirty years. An acknowledged expert on the tribes of the islands, particularly the Jarawas and the Sentinelese, he now runs a souvenir shop selling fake tribal artefacts to unsuspecting tourists. In the shop, he hides dark secrets and a long history with the people of the islands.
One day, an American missionary appears in Mattoo’s shop and seeks his help to visit North Sentinel Island, where he hopes to bring the Sentinelese tribals to Jesus. Mattoo agrees, but also has deep misgivings because the Sentinelese are among the last uncontacted people on earth; their stone-age civilization has survived in complete isolation for thousands of years, and their hostility has made their island a zone forbidden to outsiders.
Undeterred, the missionary sets off on his mission, and Mattoo, as his guide, finds himself embroiled in a situation from which there can be no escape, as the fate of the Sentinelese, his own fate, and that of the Indian State all come together in a catastrophic denouement.
One and Three Quarters, Shrikant Bojewar, translated from the Marathi by Vikrant Pande
Young Pitambar is known in the village as “Langdya” because one of his legs is shorter than the other. Each day, he reluctantly limps his way to a ramshackle school to please his unlettered father. While his heart is not in studies, his eyes are on the Maths teacher Gengage’s wife. Langdya is looking for a formula to get rich by climbing the ranks in the school of life. Chancing upon the secret affair between the school principal and the Music teacher, and using the magic wand of blackmail, he finds his way to the local politician’s office, landing a henchman’s job. Next step, he is on a fast track to the Mantralaya in Mumbai. He is egged on and counselled by Latthya the tomcat, whose language he inexplicably understands.
Latthya, no less a fixer than Langdya, comes from a community of cats that is a sucker for gossip and local politics.
Part social satire, part fable, Shrikant Bojewar’s One and Three Quarters is a stinging commentary on the moral decrepitude that ails post-independence India and the curious workings of its sociopolitical machinery.
Kanchhi, Weena Pun
In the misty foothills of Torikhola, Kanchhi, the only child of her mother, Maiju, refuses to play by the stifling rules of her hamlet. She befriends boys, writes letters to them, and opposes the shame imposed on her swelling ambitions and curiosity. There is a life beyond the forlorn valleys and gorges, and Kanchhi is intrigued by the possibilities. One cold November morning she leaves home – with two bags and some millet bread Maiju prepared for her. That, however, is the last anybody sees of her.
Now, a decade after Kanchhi's puzzling disappearance, echoes of her defiance grow thin. Life has moved on. For one, the civil war has arrived at the hamlet's doorstep. And yet, much has remained still. Maiju lights a lamp in front of the gods and feverishly prays for her daughter's return. And the villagers, uncertain of what befell Kanchhi, continue to debate. Did she run off, chasing the highs and lights of the big city? Or did the cruelties of the ongoing civil war engulf her whole?
All information sourced from publishers’ blurbs.
