There is an eclectic mix of stuff to look forward to, penned by award-winning authors, politicians, artistes and even sportsmen. The good news is that if 2016 and 2017 were the years of the biopic, written memoirs seem to be making a comeback in 2018. Plus, there are some incredible novels out there, from past masters in the genre. Here are eight books to watch out for in the next 12 months.
A Suitable Girl by Vikram Seth
The much-awaited sequel to his splendid A Suitable Boy might hit stands at the tail end of 2018 (from Orion Publishers, according to some reports). Promising to be a wristbreaker like its predecessor, the novel has several questions buzzing around it: Will the ‘Suitable Girl’ be a boy? Will there be a cricketer in the novel? Will the novel end with Kabir and Lata getting together in a geriatric embrace? Will Lata and Kabir meet at all? Will it be in verse?
The elusive Seth is hopefully at a word processor either in dusty Noida or wintry Salisbury working at all the answers.
The Only Story by Julian Barnes
Barnes’ The Sense of An Ending was followed by a slew of non-fiction titles. The master storyteller returns to the novel with an ambiguous teaser already whetting our appetites. The Sense of An Ending won the Man Booker Prize and became a film as well, directed by The Lunchbox maker Ritesh Batra. Initial reports state that The Only Story is as gripping and ambiguous as what preceded it and well worth the wait. The book is on pre-order now and is expected to hit the stands February 2018.
Indira by Devapriya Roy and Priya Kurian
Amid the futuristic worlds of Japanese Manga and the Amar Chitra Katha-inspired works of Indian graphic novelists comes a work that can be described as a “graphic biography” of one of India’s most controversial politicians. A collaboration between writer Devapriya Roy and artist Priya Kurian, the graphic biography of Indira Gandhi (published by Westland Books) might help millennials understand better the woman who shaped Indian politics for two decades. At present she is either a Priyanka Gandhi lookalike or Rahul Gandhi ki daadi for a lot of youngsters.
Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt
Unlikely to hit bookstores in Calcutta, you could read this one on Kindle. A take on the marriage of Vladimir ‘Lolita’ Nabokov, this thriller has a love triangle at its heart. Initial reviews predict great things for this novel that releases mid-2018.
Why I Am A Hindu by Shashi Tharoor
Fresh in the wake of An Era of Darkness (Inglorious Empire outside India), Tharoor pens a meditation on what it means to be Hindu in Why I Am A Hindu (published by Aleph Book Company). The topic is not one that sticks easily to the suave Shashi Tharoor, whom most of us still prefer to think of as a writer who politicks rather than the other way around. A timely tome for those who are wondering whether their religion is morphing into something unrecognisable, the book might just come with a glossary for Tharoorisms. After all, the world is waiting for what
lies beyond “farrago” and “rodomontade”.
The Book of Chocolate Saints by Jeet Thayil
Narcopolis was the novel that deserved the Booker in 2012 and was a darn sight better than the Indian novel that received the honour a few years before that. The Book of Chocolate Saints (published by Aleph Book Company) sees Thayil return to Bombay and the world of F.N. Souza and Dom Moraes. Xavier Newton had made a brief appearance in Narcopolis and takes centre stage in this novel. Thayil was a poet before he was a novelist. This is reflected in his tight control over his craft and his elegantly winding page-long sentences. Initial reviews indicate that this 500-page magnum opus is a showstopper. It will be in bookstores in February 2018.
A Century Is Not Enough by Sourav Ganguly
Reported to be about his captaincy years, A Century Is Not Enough (published by Juggernaut Books) is one every cricket nut and Maharaja maniac will be excited about. From waving his shirt in exultation to having to swallow the bitter disappointment of defeat at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, March 2003 — Sourav’s career is one that was kingsize in its scope at one level, and on another, one that we all remember as part of our own personal histories. The Prince of Calcutta tells it like it is on commentary and we certainly hope the book, too, reflects this disarming candour.
Autobiography of Viswanathan Anand
The wonderkid of the 1980s and 1990s, Anand has achieved sporting heights few have even touched. He also ensured a healthy high-level chess culture in India, which now has a steady supply line of grandmasters who win championships all over the world. A rare, rare human being, who is unbelievably brilliant and humble, his story from schoolboy Asia champion to multiple-times world champion is the stuff of biopics. But Anand being Anand has chosen to pen his memoir.
If they have a good book, bibliophiles are known to shut out the world around them.
The Bibliopath is the Queen Mother of this tribe.
Talk to her at t2onsunday@abp.in
