Books to look out for in 2021

Here's a curated list of some of the exciting reads of the coming year

FICTION

Whereabouts

Jhumpa Lahiri

Hamish Hamilton

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, comes a new novel that promises to explore exuberance and dread, attachment and estrangement. This is the first novel Lahiri has written in Italian and translated into English.

Nights Of Plague

Orhan Pamuk

Viking

This is a historical novel set in 1901 during the third plague pandemic. And in Pamuk’s liquid prose, there is the promise of pathos as well as poetry in prose.

Krishnayan

(Gujarati to English)

Kaajal Oza Vaidya

Westland Books

Krishnayan is Gujarati literature’s biggest bestseller, having sold over 200,000 copies. The novel starts when Krishna’s injured by Jara’s arrow and gives us a glimpse into Krishna’s last moments on earth.

The Lesbian Cow And Other Stories

Indu Menon

(Malayalam to English)

Westland Books

Many consider Indu Menon a successor to Kamala Das, having inherited the same insouciance and open, liberal outlook. Menon uses raw images, bolder language and an avenging spirit in her characters, all of which make them unforgettable.

The Paris Library

Janet Skeslien Charles

Hachette India

Inspired by the true story of the librarians who risked their lives during the Nazis’ war on words; a story of courage and betrayal inspired by real-life defiance in Occupied Paris, perfect for fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Book Thief and The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society.

The Cage

Amrita Pritam (Translated by Rita Banerji)

Hachette India

Amrita Pritam was one of the earliest feminist writers of modern India; her most notable work written in 1950, the Punjabi novel Pinjar, was the very first to approach Partition and its aftermath through the eyes of a woman. This fresh, definitive translation of Pritam’s iconic work revives one of the finest, most poignant feminist works of Indian literature.

Five Novellas About Women

(Assamese to English)

Indira Goswami

Niyogi Books

Indira Goswami is a great literary writer of her generation and a feminist icon. Most of her major works have been translated from Assamese into English; however some of her works are yet to be discovered by a larger audience. These five novellas represent a cross-section of her writing, with a special focus on women.