Travelling in India is an assault on the senses. First time visitors can find themselves overwhelmed; by the vibrant colours, the smell of poverty, a claustrophobic feeling amongst the teeming crowds. And yet many of us are enticed to revisit; charmed by the people, attracted to the intensity.I revisit my sensory journey to India through the eyes of fictional characters and enthralling tales that are based there. You can escape the grey and dreary UK weather and enjoy an Indian summer through this sample of captivating books set in God’s Own Country.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
In my notebook I scribbled three words about this novel: tense, intense, dark. I think this paints an accurate picture of how gripping and sombre the story is. The novel centres on an event in the past, which the reader knows is horrific, fatal and potentially sexual, but nothing else. The story unfolds through the eyes of the characters most affected by the event, a pair of twins who were young and innocent at the time of it happening but we find are ruined in adulthood. It’s a novel that wrenches the heart and questions it actions, all whilst set against the hypnotising backdrop of Southern India. This book is an international bestseller and Booker Prize Winner and it’s not hard to see why.
The Elephanta Suite by Paul Theroux
Modern day India is explored through three separate perspectives, as a middle-aged couple, lawyer and backpacker each pass through the Elephanta Suite in Mumbai. Each character comes to India in search of something, yet they are all repulsed in some way with what they find, and ultimately leave India feeling miserable. The reader is left questioning whether this disappointment is the fault of India or her visitors?
Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna
One boy’s mistake ruins the lives of the people he loves most, and he has to sit back and watch the damage he had caused everyday. A tale of miscommunication, loss, tradition and unrequited love that will keep you spellbound until the last sentence. Warning: I thought I might cry myself dry at the end of it!
A fine balance by Rohinton Mistry
Another weeper! I found this book in a Goan hotel library and I finished it on a train in Kerala in floods of tears. When two poor tailors move into the house of a proud widow in need of some cash their three lives become as intricately woven as the tapestries they work on. Exploring the concept of family and love in extreme hardship; it’s a heart-breaking book, which I could not put down.
The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas
As Mair’s mother dies and she finds herself orphaned she decides to look into her grandmothers history, in particular a Kashmir shawl the deceased woman treasured. Digging into her family’s past to avoid facing her future, Mair journeys to India, with little preparation and an unclear purpose. As Mair retraces her grandmother’s steps, in juxtaposing chapters the novel retells her grandmother’s experience of living in wartime India. The grandmother’s story unravels in time with Mair’s discoveries and the reader is swept up in the retelling of both. A touching novel exploring the complications of love, the misery of some lives and the contradictions of north India.
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About the Author: Jayne Gorman is a travel, reading and India obsessed blogger on a mission to visit and blog 40 countries before turning 30. She writes a series called Travel Reads on her blog about the latest books that have charmed and transported her. To find out how she is doing on her challenge visit her blog or find her on twitter @jayneytravels.