fiction by Indian authors february 2020

February is looking up for all you bibliophiles with Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s debut book on a futuristic Bangalore that is dystopian in nature and Man Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga’s novel about a young illegal immigrant who has to risk deportation. In addition, there is a poetry collection that captures the heart of Delhi, a coming-of-age story, historical fiction and mystery novels.

01

Djinn Patrol On The Purple Line

Deepa Anappara

Jai is a crime show fiend, and believes he has excellent detective skills. So, when a classmate goes missing, Jai, along with his friends, Pari and Faiz, start interviewing suspects and search for clues. But when more children keep disappearing, rumours start popping up about soul-snatching djinns. Jai and his friends, however, remain unaware that danger lurks close to home. Based on real-life incidents, this novel will keep you intrigued, and make you applaud bravery in times of peril.

Releasing on February 01, 2020. Buy it here.

02

Yugandhar

Shivaji Sawant, Kadambini Dharap (Tr.)

After getting struck by Jara’s arrow, Krishna lies beneath a kadamba tree, and reflects on his life as a mortal who followed his dharma and walked the earth. As he recounts the events of his childhood and youth, people close to Krishna appear, one at a time, to tell tales of their relationship with him. Not an incarnation of Vishnu, but a mortal man, Shivaji Sawant’s Krishna in Yugandhar is a complex yet imperfect and flawed human, making it easy for the reader to relate with one of the most beloved of gods.

Releasing on February 10, 2020. Buy it here.

03

Boy In A Blue Pullover

Ruskin Bond

A collection that highlights the small joys and pleasures of life found by people from the mountains the author calls home, Boy In A Blue Pullover is a delightful whiff of fresh mountain air. In the midst of nature, luxuries are few, but the satisfaction found from the little things is available in abundance. Here, a poor boy in a blue pullover is overjoyed to learn that he can buy a buckle for his belt with a coin he has just found, Rakesh is ecstatic after his attempt to grow a cherry tree is successful, and Binya and the other villagers covet a pretty blue umbrella rather than money and jewels. Along with Boy In A Blue Pullover, look out for Bond’s Braving Mussoorie’s Madding Crowd, a humorous collection of stories, articles and comic verse, releasing the very same day.

Releasing on February 10, 2020. Buy it here.

04

Like Blood On The Bitten Tongue: Delhi Poems

Akhil Katyal

Akhil Katyal, with his sincere and stirring voice, has rapidly become a popular poet in an increasingly cynical world. He combines the Urdu and Hindi traditions of poetry writing and performance with English form and sensibilities. Katyal’s bittersweet poems are earnest and empathetic. Like Blood On The Bitten Tongue is a collection of poems in which the evolving yet unyielding heart of the city of Delhi beats.

Releasing on February 10, 2020. Buy it here.

05

Undertow

Jahnavi Barua

Undertow by Jahnavi Barua is a coming-of-age-tale set in Guwahati that explores the relationship between native and outsider, and home and the outside. Rukmini was cast away from the hillside home of her parents for marrying out of the community. Her daughter, Loya, now 25, leaves behind her home in Bangalore and her mother, who is now divorced, to undertake research on the Elephas maximus, or the Asian Elephant, for her thesis. For this, she goes to Assam to her grandparents’ house. Once there, Loya attempts to change her non-existent relationship with her grandfather and figure out who she really is.

Releasing on February 14, 2020. Buy it here.

06

Amnesty

Aravind Adiga

Danny lives in Sydney as an undocumented immigrant, after fleeing Sri Lanka. He lives in a grocery storeroom and works as a cleaner. One morning, he finds out that a female client of his has been murdered. At the murder scene, he identifies a jacket that belongs to another client of his, a doctor who’d been having an affair with the victim. Danny is at an impasse – should he uncover the truth and risk getting thrown out of the country, or should he keep quiet? Aravind Adiga’s newest novel is a timeless story of growing immigrant issues and should be read by everyone.

Releasing on February 20, 2020. Buy it here.

07

Analog/Virtual And Other Simulations Of Your Future

Lavanya Lakshminarayan

In her debut novel, Lavanya Lakshminarayan offers readers a glance at a dystopian future that is fast-approaching. Imaginative, yet highly relevant, this is a story that tells a cautionary tale of city states that have emerged as islands after a population catastrophe leads to a collapse of nations. Technology and productivity dictate lives in the city of Bangalore, which is now known as Apex City, and is run by the deceitful Bell Corporation. One must climb the ladder of the Virtual elite in this city to avoid deportation wherein one is labelled an Analog and is denied their humanity without access to electricity and running water. Analog/Virtual And Other Simulations Of Your Future is ingeniously thought-provoking and will make you question your choices of who you want to be and what you want.

Releasing on February 29, 2020. Buy it here.

08

Hijab

Guruprasad Kaginele, Pavan N. Rao (Tr.)

America is a melting pot of immigrants from all over the world, be it India, Mexico or Somalia. Hijab is set in Minnesota, where three Indian doctors are waiting for their green cards. What follows is a dystopian tale of ‘asking bigger, burning questions about and around identity, immigration, belonging and racial profiling’. Translated to English for the first time, Hijab is a masterpiece from the award-winning author Guruprasad Kaginele.

Releasing in February.

09

The Loneliness Of Hira Barua

Arupa Kalita Patangia, Ranjita Biswas (Tr.)

A short story collection featuring an Assamese girl, Hira Barua, and a foreigner named Mariam Austin, The Loneliness Of Hira Barua won the 2014 Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese. It portrays the lives of women in Assam, at a time when the state’s political and social life was constantly unstable and violent. This is a novel eminently suitable for our times from one of the leading feminist voices in the country.

Releasing in February.

Disclaimer: Some of these books were previously available on Kindle or as international editions which were available for import. This list features Indian editions of these books, which tend to be more affordable. The information featured here is accurate as of January 31, 2020.