The Dutch House
Ann Patchett
Bloomsbury, 2019, pp 352, Rs 550
Told with Ann Patchett’s inimitable blend of wit and heartbreak, The Dutch House is a story of family, betrayal, love, responsibility and sacrifice; of the powerful bonds of place and time that magnetise and repel us for our whole lives, and the lives of those who survive us.
Big Billion Startup
Mihir Dalal
Pan Macmillan, 2019, pp 336, Rs 699
Investigative journalist Mihir Dalal recounts the astounding story of how the Bansals built Flipkart into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse in the span of a few years and made internet entrepreneurship a desirable occupation.
Savarkar
Vikram Sampath
Penguin, 2019, pp 624, Rs 999
As the intellectual fountainhead of the ideology of Hindutva, which is in political ascendancy in India today, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is undoubtedly one of the most contentious political thinkers and leaders of the twentieth century.
Amitabh Bachchan
Pradeep Chandra & Vikas Chandra Sinha
Niyogi Books, 2019, pp 359, Rs 1,500
In this book, the authors have embarked on the near-impossible task of chronicling the course of Amitabh Bachchan’s life, from his early days till date. It’s filled with personal anecdotes from the man himself, quotes from his immediate family, closest friends and colleagues.
Tidelands
Philippa Gregory
Simon & Schuster, 2019, pp 464, Rs 550
Midsummer’s Eve, 1648, and England is in the grip of civil war between renegade King and rebellious Parliament. The struggle reaches even to the remote Tidelands. Alinor waits in the graveyard under the full moon for a ghost who will declare her free from her abusive husband.
A Flutter in the Colony
Sandeep Ray
Harper Collins, 2019, pp 336, Rs 499
In 1956, the Senguptas travel from Calcutta to rural Malaya to start afresh. But this second home is not entirely free and gentle. A complex, racially charged society, it is on the brink of independence even as communist insurgents hover on the periphery.
By God: The Making of a Messiah
Shashi Warrier
Fingerprint, 2019, pp 248, Rs 299
Through the journey of two Ghublistanis as they meet inept policemen, blundering spies, and sleazy politicians, By God: The Making of a Messiah gives a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of the religio-political system, subtly but powerfully unmasking its inherent vices, shortcomings, duplicity, and hypocrisy.
The Institute
Stephen King
Hachette, 2019, pp 496, Rs 799
Deep in the woods of Maine, there is a dark state facility where kids abducted from across US are incarcerated. Here, they are subjected to a series of tests and procedures meant to combine their exceptional gifts. Luke Ellis is the latest recruit. He’s just a regular 12-year-old, but super-smart. And he has another gift which the Institute wants to use...