“What now, then?” Gregor asked himself as he looked round in the darkness. He soon made the discovery that he could no longer move at all.
One morning, Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into a horrible vermin. Here begins Metamorphosis, the most resounding story of the inherent human conflicts and the suppressed dark side of the human existence.
As Samsa struggles to remind those around him that he is still human despite his new repulsive appearance; we see his friends and family struggle to remember the person that lives in this unappealing creature. Are we inherently a superficial society?
Can we truly look past the surface to appreciate inner beauty? Do we possess the ability to selfishly care for others?
Metamorphosis is a compelling, sarcastic, and emotional story holding a mirror to the feelings of alienation common to all alike.
Shazma’s world turns upside down when she’s offered a prestigious role in the Indian Parliament, but the weight of the decision threatens to unravel the life she’s built with her husband, Nikhil, in Singapore. As she faces this life-altering choice, mysterious signs from her late father, SR, pull her back to her childhood, revealing truths along the way. These intertwined paths of reflection and growth draw them closer—with Shazma reconnecting with her authentic self, and SR advancing in his spiritual journey. With her father’s wisdom from the beyond, Shazma must confront her deepest fears and desires to ultimately decide which path will lead her to the life she’s meant to live.
Undergoing a ravaging drought, the riverside settlement of Rohitaka is at odds, struggling to recover from their losses. When a request from Babylon to trade weapons arrives as a blessing in disguise, a trade delegation, headed by prince Arjuna, and the grizzled veteran, Shrutasena, sets off for the faraway kingdom.
An encounter with Lilith, the fierce bodyguard to the Queen, and more importantly, a woman who is hell-bent on despising Arjuna, leaves him flustered. But there’s more to Lilith than meets the eye. The woman is a formidable soldier, but something about her reminds Arjuna of home, Bharatavarsha.
But as fate would have it, Arjun and Lilith find themselves entrenched in a political ploy to overthrow Babylon’s King, Sin-Mubalit. Will they be able to stop the usurpers to the throne? And can they trust each other to have their backs as they do so, even as they’re uncovering new secrets on the go?
Inspired by the twentieth century discovery of a Sumerian tablet off the coast of Mumbai, Daughter of Two Rivers is a homecoming story.
And like all good homecoming stories, it’s a story of learning what home means—across countries, and across time.
Having worked all his life, Shivaswamy eagerly awaits the serenity of retirement. But his plans are suddenly upturned when his attempts to buy a house are scuppered by unscrupulous builders. Suddenly, he realizes that he might have to join the workforce again. What follows is a tale of gentle satire that is also an intense human drama. Shivaswamy faces the toughest choice, one that threatens the values that have sustained him throughout his life.
Set in contemporary Bengaluru, What’s Your Price, Mr Shivaswamy? is an elegantly crafted and deeply engaging story about a man torn between material necessities and spiritual aspirations. How much would you sacrifice for some peace of mind?
Translated into English by the author himself, this novel was originally published in Kannada as Ondondu Talegu Ondondu Bele .
Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize Fiction 2025 Shortlist
Godrej Literature Live! Fiction Best First Book 2025 Shortlist
Are doors to the past ever really shut? Are some crimes more understandable than others?
Disgraced after failing the university exams, Thankachan has returned to his old life. On Fathima Island in the Ashtamudi archipelago, his days are clouded over by the fear of never making anything of himself, but soon, strange events begin to happen on the island. A dead body surfaces one day, then another. Soon, a murder case considered solved years ago is suddenly once again wide open. Is his evasive brother involved in something sinister? Is the fate of a fisherman’s son really sealed at birth?
Packed with intrigue, compelling characters draw the reader into their lives and the heart of the dark secrets that have long lay dormant. Once revealed, they threaten to shake the foundations of community life and wreck Thankachan’s hopes for the future.
A small island community, a murder mystery and whispers of a new romance—The Dead Know Nothing is ripe with the energy of everyday life and deeply perceptive of its social tensions. A riveting story of deceit, perseverance and the wild realms of possibility, it will engross readers with its simple charm and beguiling turns.
“The silence depressed me. It wasn’t the silence of silence. It was my own silence.”
Esther Greenwood is a beautiful and immensely talented young lady who dreamt of being a great writer. As a college student she travelled from Massachusetts to New York to work on a magazine for a month as a guest editor. While there, she is showered with fancy dinners, and elite networking. Esther knew she should be having the time of her life, but something was wrong, and she felt deadened.
Little she knew that this was the beginning of a clinical depression which would take all sense of life out of her. After a visit from a beloved professor, she starts to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Months of treatment later, Esther leaves the mental hospital in time to start college. She now knew that life would be a seesaw of good and bad days, and the bell jar could ring either with sadness or elation, she just needed to hear it jingle and practice what she learnt.
The Bell Jar is an intimate, and uplifting narrative written with the expert stroke of the finest writers of the century; meant to make the reader feel supported and hopeful in their journey.
“Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery.”
What happens when paramount self-belief leads to self-destruction. Raskolnikov’s is a student who believes he has the responsibility of using evil means to bring good to people; thereby committing murders.
As Raskolnikov is chased by a relentless investigator, his conscience starts to haunt him, tightening the grip of guilt. Amidst this turmoil, only Sonya, a marginalized sex worker, holds the key to his salvation.
Ultimately, Raskolnikov’s path leads him to a profound reckoning. Through suffering and self-realization, Raskolnikov discovers the true nature of happiness and the power of accepting and reciprocating love.
Crime and Punishment stands as a testament to Dostoevsky’s unparalleled ability to explore the depths of the human psyche, the complexities of truth, guilt, and the search for redemption.
Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025
In Heart Lamp, Banu Mushtaq exquisitely captures the everyday lives of women and girls in Muslim communities in southern India. Published originally in the Kannada, these portraits of family and community tensions testify to Mushtaq’s years as a journalist and lawyer, in which she tirelessly championed women’s rights and protested all forms of caste and religious oppression. Written in a style at once witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating, it’s in her characters – the sparky children, the audacious grandmothers, the buffoonish maulvis and thug brothers, the oft-hapless husbands, and the mothers above all, surviving their feelings at great cost – that Mushtaq emerges as an astonishing writer and observer of human nature, building disconcerting emotional heights out of a rich spoken style. Her opus has garnered both censure from conservative quarters as well India’s most prestigious literary awards; this is a collection sure to be read for years to come.
Neil Ramamurthy, an Indian-origin American DJ, reaches Delhi on his first trip to India. His only objective is to win back his girlfriend, Sameera, after she broke his heart in New York City on New Year’s Eve several months ago.
Sameera Kapoor is busy launching her club, Kapital, which has been shuttered since her mother dropped dead in it five years ago. Safe to say, a relationship’s not on her mind.
The way to Sameera’s heart is through her club – and its smooth launch – but as luck would have it, the road to Kapital’s launch is marred with bizarre incidents. And when everything seems to have returned to normal, an accidental death in the club sends Neil and Sameera’s world crashing down. To make matters worse, the officer-in-charge, Inspector KK, seems hell bent on making things harder for them.
As Neil maneuvers through these challenges, he finds himself entangled in a ludicrous love triangle, one which may or may not be responsible for the events at Kapital.
Who knew being a DJ came with such a huge occupational hazard?
In the electric haze of college life, three friends are bound by laughter, late-night talks and unspoken promises. But when two of them cross the line from friendship into love, everything changes. Betrayal shatters their world, leaving one friend to pick up the pieces while navigating her own complicated feelings. As friendships fracture and love grows tangled, hearts are broken, and choices become irreversible. Caught between the ache of lost friendship and the bittersweet pull of love, Dev must decide if he’s willing to risk everything?again.
