This is a question I get asked all the time working in the bookstore: "What would you recommend for somebody who loved "_________"? (fill in the blank)" Usually I can come up with something, but that something can be a bit of a wild guess if it's not a book or genre I normally read. This is where you helpful people come in. If you have a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.This week I'm asking about an area where I'm sadly out of date. When it comes to stories set in India, the ones I've read are never in stores anymore: Zemindar
by Valerie Fitzgerald, and M. M. Kaye's two famous books: The Shadow of the Moon and The Far Pavilions
.A couple of people have recommended The Twentieth Wife
by Indu Sundaresan and sequels to me, and I just bought it the other day, though I haven't had a chance to read it yet, and of course, there's Shantaram
by Gregory David Roberts, but aside from that and The Forbidden Daughter
, I have no idea of any other books in terms of fiction.For non-fiction (and even for those who are looking for fiction) I tend to recommend Margaret Macmillan's Women of the Raj, and the books of William Dalrymple.
What else is there for me to either read or recommend, or preferably both?
5 comments:
Fiction:
White Tiger, Aravind Adiga
Slumdog Millionaire, Viras Swarup
Not entirely sure if they set their books there, but Rohinton Mistry, M.G. Vassanji, Anita Rau Badami, and Shawna Singh Baldwin all have Indian heritage.
Non-Fiction:
There's Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, by Paul Theroux, and the book that it was a follow-up to. Also Holy Cow, by Sarah Macdonald. I can't remember any others offhand, but I might see some at work tonight and I'll try to remember to pass them on.
(How bad is it that I've memorized 2/3 of our stock?)
I recently read The Siege of Krishnapur and loved every chapter, page, and word. Truly an awesome book that works on many levels.
Anassa, thanks for the collections of titles. Sometimes I feel like I've done the same thing :)
I'll have to look for that one J.G. Thanks.
There's a book coming out next March, Tiger Hills, that's being marketed as Gone with the Wind meets The Thorn Birds. It's by Sarita Mandana. The writer supposedly got a seven figure advance for it.
That sounds interesting, Con. Thanks for mentioning it, and I'll keep an eye out.
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