Best Literary Fictions from Indian Authors

Table of Contents

(Click on an genre to navigate to the particular section)

1. Indian Classics
2. Literary Fictions from Indian Authors
3. The 10 Never-Ageing Crime Thrillers By Indian Authors

Continuing with our plan to help you choose your next book, have you ever wondered what makes a piece of literature good or bad or even ugly?

Literature is like a palatial bungalow of the creative world. And when there crops a question of creativity, the limit runs beyond the sky. What seems bad for one, might work wonders for the others. Literature too bites on the same rule. Any piece of literature is like an experience the writers loan to the world. And as a matter of fact, the experience is bound to go meander; between good and bad and sometimes not worthy enough. As a reader, one often tries to go for the best literary work as judged and declared by the world. However, a voracious reader carries a tendency to embrace every piece of work that comes around; read it, observe and scrutinize the author’s point of view and then decides whether to defend the work or just trash it.

Coming to think of the question aforementioned; the answer is entirely a personal choice. One can find the mass appeal to be praiseworthy while others may stick to the highbrows of the literature. For example, Chetan Bhagat and Amitava Ghosh are two eminent English language authors of India; however, their vision towards literature is completely diametric. For something to be considered literary fiction, it has to be a masterpiece with a classic appeal that can captivate the whole diaspora of readers and garner critical praise worldwide. Whether for the creativity, profundity or the simplistic portrayal of a complex storyline, the fiction must pull through the time, place and of course the language.

In this blog post, we are going to talk about such masterpieces by Authors of Indian Origin which have made the whole world turn its head and ponder upon India’s culture, diverse narratives, way of living through its emotional and political growth.

• The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

The first on the list is Jhumpa Lahiri’s The Namesake. Besides Indian Classics, if there is one author who could beautifully embroider the Indian emotions into the foreign world, it is Jhumpa Lahiri. If you have not read any of her books, start with Interpreter of Maladies and then The Namesake. Cultural conflicts, ruffled and piercing experiences of immigration, the constant urge and labour to get absorbed into the foreign land and tangled emotions between two generations, The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri is a poignant tale of emotions, compassion and perfecting details of fleeting moments of an Indian’s life growing in a foreign land. There lingers a kind of magic in her pen.

• A House For Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

An expanding view of the colonial world through a postcolonial lens, A House For Mr. Biswas is an experience that will remain close to your heart forever. A Hindu Brahmin born in Trinidad and Tobago with an extra finger, a pundit’s prophecy leading to a household tragedy and with many more knotted twists, this book rekindles our sardonic taste. Mr. Mohun Biswas tries everything to succeed in life but fails in his every attempt. A married man, given a subordinate placement within his in-laws family and his desperate attempts to own a house form the premise of this wonderful novel.

• The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga

This novel is a refreshing take on the social status disparity in contemporary India. It undresses the facts and aspirations of poverty-stricken Indians. Compelling, commanding, darkly humorous and a furtive attempt to demystify India’s lyrical take on stories.

• The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

She has made us love her God of Small Things for the poetic language, lyrical metaphors and simplicity. However, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness unleashes a different hue of Roy’s work. Conflicting, harrowing, painful with venomous truth and a desperate attempt to hold a mirror to the political façade India is carrying around. Arundhati Roy is a master of storytelling and she knows where and when to whip on what topic.

• Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai

Impressive family drama set in a close-knit Indian household where restrictions and prejudices go hand in hand. Simple language, unhindered narration are some of the key factors to make it a great work of literature.

• The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor

If you think good looks and an exotic vocabulary define our very own Farrago-Man Shashi Tharoor, you are mistaken. For one who wishes to read a good sense of writing in an unexplored creative aisle, The Great Indian Novel should be the first choice. A satirical novel where Tharoor places the Indian Epic Mahabharata into the scenes of the Indian Independence Movement. If you are a connoisseur of English Literature, do not give this a miss, for Tharoor is one such author who can give a tough fight to native English writers from the third world perspective.

• The Mistress Of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Crafting a story is like sadhana with years of imagination, learning, relearning and an utmost desire to make a mysterious yet beautiful fictional world. Divakaruni’s every work of fiction leaves a mark of its own and honestly, it is very difficult to single out one book. If you haven’t read any of her books yet, start with The Mistress of Spices. Magical; both literally and metaphorically.

• The Moor’s Last Sigh by Salman Rushdie

There is more of Salman Rushdie in The Moor’s Last Sigh than what you might have seen in The Midnight’s Children. A labyrinth of mad passions, volcanic hatreds inside a dysfunctional family, of unforgettable matriarchs and the curses that dupe the line of life and death. Cleverly thought and emotionally written, The Moor’s Last Sigh will leave a lasting impression on every reader.

• The Last Song Of Dusk by Siddharth Dhanvant Sanghvi

Often compared to Arundhati Roy’s style of writing, Sanghvi is a promising future of India’s English Literature. A tale of troubled fate, The Last Song Of Dusk will haunt you like a beloved song whose lyrics you’ve forgotten. Close to classic, this work of fiction is mellifluous. Not many debutant writers have exerted such a gorgeous tale of love, failed relationships and human emotions that Sanghvi has offered.

• Waiting For The Mahatma by R.K. Narayan

The list of English literature by Indian authors is futile with no R.K. Narayan into it. A tale of triumphs and tragedies, with warmth and humour, distinctly felt over the pages, Waiting For The Mahatma is one of the finest works of R.K. Narayan. Somewhere in this novel, we can find a dearth of sentimentality in stamping the absolute truth on the face of this world.

A gold medallist in Applied Microbiology from VIT, India, Atrayee is a Health Educator and works in the internal communications department of a renowned MNC. To cut her long educational qualification short, her journey as an editor started with Elsevier and Cactus Communications. She is an author by herself and have published three works of fiction. She has done 5 ghostwriting projects which have been published under good banners. An avid reader of English and Bangla literature and a chai person, she sits with us as an editor, translator and ghostwriter. She calls herself an introverted city-life hater who one day plans to live in a small hut with a bunch of rabbits.