Homegrown Staff
Published in 2004, Suketu Mehta’s book captures the essence of the city using a delightful concoction of memoirs, travels and politics. It ploughs deep and uncovers the various unspoken truths of the politics of Mumbai, while also touching upon some of the more sensitive issues of the 1993 Bombay riots.
Characterised by its incredibly florid language, Sanghvi’s book revolves around the lives of four main characters: A photographer, a pianist, a Bollywood queen and a cheating wife.
Although it might seem poignant, the book actually does a good job of making you laugh, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 1996.
Loosely based on the author’s own life and experiences in Mumbai, the book is based on Lindsay, an Australian fugitive who broke out of prison and escaped to India in search of a new life.
The book talks in detail about the average Parsi’s life in Mumbai – the details about their practices and beliefs (especially) offer great insights into one of the smaller communities of our city
Love and Longing in Bombay is based on five cleverly linked short stories, all of which are based in Mumbai.
It describes the transition from British rule to Independent India based on both fabricated and historically accurate facts. Magic realism is another subject the book covers
From “Dhobi Ghat” to Massagewala at Juhu Chowpaty; from the problems of a live-in relationship to the laundrywalas water shortage problems, Shroff covers every aspect, every speck of this beautiful city.
Funny and unabashed, the book offers a terrifying glimpse of the potential future of Bombay – if an apocalypse is to strike is in the near future
The book portrays life on the streets as well as any Mumbaikar could have imagined, and proceeds to delve into a tale which encompasses everything – money, blackmail, espionage, politics and even nuclear terrorism.
This one is a prime example of the famed saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Although it may seem like a kids’ novel, it is anything but.
Jeet Thayil’s first fictional novel, Narcopolis, is based on his own experiences as a drug addict, something he calls, “The 20 lost years of my life.”