Anita Desai: 8 books

A collection of stories stretching from India to New England to Mexico from the author of Fasting, Feasting—an “undeniable genius” (*TheWashington Post Book World*).** The men and women in these nine tales set out on journeys that suddenly go beyond the pale—or surprisingly lead them...

A classic survival story by one of India's most acclaimed authors, set in a quiet village outside of Bombay about two siblings who struggle to maintain their family's bond in difficult times Anita Desai’s The Village by the Sea is an exciting and moving story about life in an Indian coastal...

A young American in Mexico discovers his family’s past—and a present-day danger—in this “elegant, exquisite” novel of suspense (Elle).   Eric is a newly minted historian just out of graduate school, plagued by self-doubt over both his past choices and his future options. With no clear direction,...

This Man Booker Prize finalist is a “splendid novel” about siblings and their very different lives in India and America (The Wall Street Journal). Uma, the plain spinster daughter of a close-knit Indian family, is trapped at home, smothered by her overbearing parents and their traditions—unlike...

Finalist for the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction “The excellent strength [the novellas] share is a gracefulness and dreamlike sonority, reminiscent of writers like Jhumpa Lahiri and W.G. Sebald, wherein strange evolutions of solitary lives are the rule, and readers are held by the stately,...

Disappointed by his professional and social position, an entitled and officious junior civil servant imagines that his life will change when a mysterious old man promises to lead him to a museum filled with priceless treasures.

Shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize: A “rich, Chekhovian novel” about family and forgiveness from the acclaimed author of Fire on the Mountain (The New Yorker). At the heart of this “wonderful” novel are the moving relationships between the estranged members of the Das family (The...

Distraught by her own lack of accomplishment -- especially in comparison to that of a childhood rival who has become a famous and successful publisher -- a middle-aged woman has the opportunity of a lifetime: to translate the work of an unknown literary star and, in the process, impress the woman she most admires.