‘I Named My Sister Silence’: The horrors of humans’ capability for destruction persist after the end

Published in Hindi as ‘Kaale Adhyaay’, the book gets a different title – and a moving core – in Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar’s translation.

Diya Isha

· Sep 09, 2023 · 01:30 pm

‘Unspoken’: A fictionalised examination of the moral framework of what infidelity might mean

Do not expect a maxim from Sharmistha Gooptu’s novel.

Diya Isha

· Aug 26, 2023 · 07:30 am

‘Marquez, EMS, Gulam and Others’: Benyamin’s short stories breathe new life into the medium

Swarup BR’s translation captures Benyamin’s characterisation, rather than simply his language.

Isa Ayidh

· Jul 09, 2023 · 08:30 am

‘The Alice Project’ scours millennial life like most books of the genre. And that isn’t a bad thing

The novel resonates with Sally Rooney’s writing by reflecting the societal norms, values, and beliefs of the Indian millennial.

Isa Ayidh

· May 07, 2023 · 05:30 pm

‘The Body by the Shore’: Tabish Khair’s new novel tries hard to blend sci-fi with literary fiction

A fascinating storyline is interrupted by ‘cerebral’ writing.

Isa Ayidh

· Feb 19, 2023 · 12:30 pm

‘Valli’: Sheela Tomy’s novel set in a Kerala forest is a universal study of human savagery

Jayasree Kalathil’s English translation of Sheela Tomy’s debut novel in Malayalam even gives it the feel of a new original work.

Isa Ayidh

· Aug 27, 2022 · 08:30 am

‘Beguiled’: This novel about a marriage swindler tries to cash in on its elements of truth

But Ruchika Soi’s storytelling undercuts the plot of the novel.

Isa Ayidh

· May 07, 2022 · 12:30 pm

‘Sin’: Even ‘semi-erotic’ may be a misnomer for Wajida Tabassum’s collection of short stories

Translated from the Urdu, these stories delve into the sexual behaviour of men and women from old-world Hyderabad, but appear dated.

Isa Ayidh

· Mar 05, 2022 · 12:30 pm

This ‘crime thriller’ is in fact an investigation of the pressure on women to adhere to social norms

Madhumita Bhattacharyya’s tautly written ‘Dirty Women’ asks why it matters what people think of a woman.

Isa Ayidh

· Jan 08, 2022 · 12:30 pm

Zain Saeed’s debut novel asks if the American brand of freedom can mean release for some Pakistanis

In ‘Little America’, the narrator builds an unreal world in Karachi – and goes to jail for it.

Isa Ayidh

· Nov 21, 2021 · 12:30 pm

Sally Rooney’s ‘Beautiful World, Where Are You’ uncovers confessions from ageing millennials

Rooney’s latest isn’t relatable like a meme your friends forward to your WhatsApp group – it’s universal like sex.

Isa Ayidh

· Sep 11, 2021 · 05:30 pm

In Anita Agnihotri’s ‘Mahanadi’, fiction is interrupted by facts to create a braided narrative

But this approach does not always work for the reader.

Isa Ayidh

· Sep 04, 2021 · 12:30 pm