Books of the week...

Check out the books of the week

The Dutch House

Ann Patchett

Bloomsbury, 2019, pp 352, Rs 550

Told with Ann Patchett’s inimitable blend of wit and heartbreak, The Dutch House is a story of family, betrayal, love, responsibility and sacrifice; of the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetise and repel us for our whole lives, and the lives of those who survive us.

Big Billion Startup

Mihir Dalal

Pan Macmillan, 2019, pp 336, Rs 699

Investigative journalist Mihir Dalal recounts the astounding story of how the Bansals built Flipkart into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse in the span of a few years and made internet entrepreneurship a desirable occupation.

Savarkar

Vikram Sampath

Penguin, 2019, pp 624, Rs 999

As the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva, which is in political ascendancy in India today, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is undoubtedly one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century.

Amitabh Bachchan

Pradeep Chandra & Vikas Chandra Sinha

Niyogi Books, 2019, pp 359, Rs 1,500

In this book, the authors have embarked on the near-impossible task of chronicling the course of Amitabh Bachchan’s life, from his early days till date. It’s filled with personal anecdotes from the man himself, quotes from his immediate family, closest friends and colleagues.

Tidelands

Philippa Gregory

Simon & Schuster, 2019, pp 464, Rs 550

Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches even to the remote Tidelands. Alinor waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband.

A Flutter in the Colony

Sandeep Ray

Harper Collins, 2019, pp 336, Rs 499

In 1956, the Senguptas travel from Calcutta to rural Malaya to start afresh. But this second home is not entirely free and gentle. A complex, racially charged society, it is on the brink of independence even as communist insurgents hover on the periphery.

By God: The Making of a Messiah

Shashi Warrier

Fingerprint, 2019, pp 248, Rs 299

Through the journey of two Ghublistanis as they meet inept policemen, blundering spies, and sleazy politicians, By God: The Making of a Messiah gives a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the religio-political system, subtly but powerfully unmasking its inherent vices, shortcomings, duplicity, and hypocrisy.

The Institute

Stephen King

Hachette, 2019, pp 496, Rs 799

Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids abducted from across US are incarcerated. Here, they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts. Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He’s just a regular 12-year-old, but super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use...