Best Books By Indian Authors
Indian English literature has always been rich and varied through centuries. It’s one of the most ancient pieces of literature and is honored by the rest of the world.
There are many notable writers who have contributed immensely to Indian English Literature and made it valuable. A few of the popular names are Rabindranath Tagore, Vikram Seth, R K Narayanan, Salman Rushdie, Ruskin Bond, Khushwant Singh, Jhumpa Lahiri, Anita Desai, Arundhuti Roy, and Shashi Tharoor.
We have listed out a few best books by Indian Authors which you can’t miss reading.
1. The God of Small Things
Author: Arundhati Roy
It’s the first novel written by Arundhati Roy, which made her the winner of the 1997 booker prize. The book talks about the small things like caste, religion, love, whom to love, whom not to love, etc. It expresses various factors that affect people’s behavior and their lives. It’s a story about fraternal twins who reunited after horrifying past childhood experiences.
2. The White Tiger
Author: Aravind Adiga
It’s the first book written by Aravind Adiga, which made him the winner of the 2008 booker prize. The novel was also on The New York Times Best Seller list. The book talks about poverty, underdevelopment, corruption, discrimination based on wealth, and Indian society. It’s a story of a poor child who later became an entrepreneur. He mentions all the struggle and the guilt he has to go through his life.
3. The Palace of Illusions
Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The novel is a different version of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. This empowering story revolves around Draupadi and presents her viewpoint in a patriarchal world.
4. The Inheritance of Loss
Author: Kiran Desai
The Inheritance of Loss is the second novel by Indian author Kiran Desai. It won several awards, including the Man Booker Prize for that year 2006, the National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award in 2007, and the 2006 Vodafone Crossword Book Award. The story depicts the loss of identity and way of life of individuals, once they leave India.
5. Fire on the Mountain
Author: Anita Desai
This is a story of an old widow lady who chooses to spend her last years high in the mountains. But her plans were ruined by the arrival of her great-granddaughter, which leads to the unraveling of past old wounds and many more.
6. Rich Like Us
Author: Nayantara Sahgal
Its a historical and political fiction novel, which describes the fate of two upper-class females during the chaotic time, between 1932 and the mid-1970s. the book talks about Indian culture, ancient customs, social standards, and political systems. This novel brought the author the 1986 Sahitya Akademi awards.
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7. The Village by the Sea
Author: Anita Desai
It’s a story of poor kids struggling to manage the family. The book depicts the hardships and sorrow faced by a small rural community in India.
8. A Flight of Pigeons
Author: Ruskin Bond
It’s a story of a British family who was helped by the Hindu and Muslim families, at the time of the Indian Rebellion of 1957. The novel was later adapted into a film called Junoon.
9. A Suitable Boy
Author: Vikram Seth
It’s a story of a young girl and her quest to find a suitable match. The book also talks about issues such as the complexity of relationships, family bonds, national politics, and struggles of lower caste people. The novel was later adapted into a Tv series.
10. The Namesake
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
It’s the first novel written by Jhumpa Lahiri. The story is about a young man, who hated his name throughout his life, till he finds the emotions attached to it. The book records many events from two different cities, Calcutta(India) and New York(US). It talks about two conflicting cultures with distinct religious, social, and ideological differences.
11. The Shadow Lines
Author: Amitav Ghosh
Amitav Ghosh was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award for this novel in 1988. One of the best books by Indian Authors, that states there is an existence of lines between people’s way of perceiving things.
12. The Great Indian Novel
Author: Shashi Tharoor
The book recreates the events and characters from Mahabharata, in the context of Indian history after independence.
13. In Custody
Author: Anita Desai
The story is about a man who was teaching Hindi literature, but his real interest in Urdu poetry led him to various events in his life.
14. The Guide
Author: R. K. Narayan
The novel is a story of a man and his life events, which made him the greatest holy person in India. It records the journey that transformed him from a tour guide to a spiritual guide.
15. Midnight’s Children
Author: Salman Rushdie
The book records the historical events of India. It portrays India’s transition from British colonial rule to independence and the partition of India.
16. Wings of Fire: An Autobiography of Abdul Kalam
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari
This book records various life events of A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. It’s about his journey that began from a small village to becoming the president of India. He was closely involved in India’s civilian space program and military missile development efforts which earned him the title of ‘Missile Man’.
17. The Immortals of Meluha (Shiva Trilogy)
Author: Amish Tripathi
The Immortals of Meluha is the first book of Amish Tripathi. It’s one of the Best books by Indian authors, that has characters from Hindu texts. However, all the events are imaginative, and its narrative hooks the reader to its story. authors
18. Mahatma Gandhi Autobiography: The story of My Experiments with Truth
Author: Mahatma Gandhi
The book covers Mahatma Gandhi’s life events starting from early childhood to 1921. You will get to know about his works in political awakening and social activities. Through this book, you will be familiar with his ideologies of peace and empowering India
19. Train to Pakistan
Author: Khushwant Singh
This novel describes the Indian’s Partition in 1947, through the perspective of Mano Majra, a fictional border village. It presents the story of the groups of people living in the village, and also how their lives changed due to the partition.
20. My Gita
Author: Devdutt Pattanaik
In My Gita, Devdutt Pattanaik highlights all the important lessons from the Bhagavad Gita in a much simpler way. It’s a practical guide for people lost in life. Reading this book can help them to understand what is right for them.
The list of books by Indian authors, makes me a bit curious and proud too. Let me know your favorite read in the comment below.
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