India’s literature is as vast as its culture and history. Some of the best books by Indian authors are proof of the fact that Indian literature has come a long way since the era of post-independence (during the 20th century). Today, Indian authors are garnering international acclamation by blending India’s history with modern literary trends.
Did you know that several Indian books as well as Indian authors have received various prestigious awards (such as the Pulitzer prize) for their literary masterpieces? Do not worry if your answer is no for we have got you covered. Moreover, with 2022 around the corner, you have the great advantage of updating your TBR list for a great headstart to the new year.
Explore the Rich and Diverse Literary Landscape of India With These Top 10 Famous Books and Authors in India
1. R.K.Narayan’ ‘The Guide’
Year of Publication: 1958
Ratings: 3.95/5
Recognition: Sahitya Akademi Award for English by the Sahitya Akademi in 1960
Plot: Raju, a corrupt tour guide, is just released from prison and seeks refuge in an abandoned temple. He is mistaken for a holy man, he deceives the villagers by playing the part and succeeds in a way that God himself intervenes in his newfound sanctity by putting it to the test.
About the author
Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami or renowned as R.K. Narayan is one of the best-known Indian authors. He is popular for creating a fictional town in South India called ‘Malgudi’, which gets counted in the list of best Books By Indian Authors. Narayan is counted among some of the best Indian authors during the early period of Indian English literature. He has also been honed with several prestigious literary awards for his pieces of work.
Also Read: The English Teacher, Bachelor of Arts, Waiting for Mahatma, Tiger of Malgudi
2. Khuswant Singh’s ‘Train to Pakistan’
Year of Publication: 1956
Ratings: 3.95/5
Find it on: Amazon, Flipkart
Recognition: Padma Bhusan in 1974, Padma Vibhushan in 2007
Plot: In the summer of 1947, India witnessed a colossal fight between the Muslims and Sikhs, and the Hindus as a result of the horrendous partition. At the end of the summer, the ‘ghost train’ arrives loaded with the bodies of numerous bodies and hoisting a silent yet spine-chilling funeral—bringing the village its first taste of the horrors of the civil war. The novel depicts one of the remaining oases of the horrific partition, Mano Mara, that is plunged into the abyss of religious hate. It is also the story of a Sikh boy and a Muslim girl whose love endured and transcends the ravages of war.
About the Author
An important post-colonial novelist and writer, Khushwant Singh. Singh is popular for his trenchant secularism, humor, and abiding love for poetry. His weekly column, “With Malice towards One and All”, carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.
Also Read: The Company of Women, Delhi, Portrait of a Lady, I Shall Not Hear the Nightingale
3. Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’
Year of Publication: 1997
Ratings: 4/5
Recognition: Booker Prize in 1997
Plot: The story centers around the wealthy, land-owning, Syrian Christian Ipe family of Ayemenem, a town in Kerala, India. The narrative shifts back and forth in time in a series of flashbacks, memories, and foreshadowing of what’s ahead. Most of the plot occurs in 1969, focusing on the seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel, who live with their mother, grandmother, uncle, and great-aunt. Sophie Mol drowns in the river by the family’s house.
About the Author
Arundhati Roy is one of the popular best-selling authors to date. Her debut novel ‘The God of Small Things’ bagged her the Man Booker Prize in the same year of its publication. Apart from that many of her books are considered the best-selling Books By Indian Authors. Moreover, she is recognized as a popular political activist who is involved in human rights and environmental causes.
Also Read: The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Capitalism: A Ghost’s Story, The Alegbra of Infinite Justice
4. Mulk Raj Anand’s ‘Untouchable’
Year of Publication: 1935
Ratings: 3.7/5
Recognition: Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971, Padma Bhushan in 1967, International Peace Prize in 1953
Plot: The novel narrates the story of Bakha, a young and attractive man, who is treated as an outcast in India’s caste system. He is treated like an untouchable. As he seeks meaning to the tragic existence of his birth as a sweeper and a toilet cleaner, he comes to an unexpected conclusion.
About the Author
An Indian writer in English, Mulk Raj Anand is notable for his depiction of the lives of lower castes in traditional Indian society. He was one of the first India-based writers in English to gain an international readership along with R.K. Narayan, Ahmad Ali, and Raja Rao. Anand’s novels and short stories have acquired the status of being classic works of modern Indian English literature, noted for their perceptive insight into the lives of the oppressed.
Also Read: Coolie, The Lost Child, Across the Black Waters
5. Aravind Adiga’s ‘The White Tiger’
Year of Publication: 2008
Ratings: 3.8/5
Recognition: Man Booker Prize in 2008
Plot: The White Tiger is the story of Balram Halwai who is a true servant and an insightful philosopher. He is also an entrepreneur and a cold-blooded murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life—having nothing but his own wits to help him along.
About the Author
Aravind Adiga’s debut novel which is also one of the popular Books By Indian Authors, The White Tiger, won the Man Booker Prize for fiction in 2008. He has vastly appeared in several publications such as The New Yorker, the Sunday Times, and the Financial Times, to name a few.
Also Read: Selection Day, Amnesty, Between the Assassinations, Last Man in Tower
6. Vikram Seth’s ‘A Suitable Boy’
Year of Publication: 1993
Ratings: 4.1/5
Recognition: WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize
Plot: ‘A Suitable Boy’ is considered one of the best books by Indian authors. It narrates Lata and her mother’s quest in seeking a suitable match for Lata in the fetus India that is born out of the horrific core of the partition. The novel takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves amidst the ongoing aftermath crisis of the partition.
About the Author
Vikram Seth is a popular Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children’s writer, biographer, and memoirist. He has received several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award, and Crossword Book Award.
Also Read: An Equal Music, The Golden Gate, A Bridge of Leaves
7. Shashi Tharoor’s ‘The Great Indian Novel’
Year of Publication: 1989
Ratings: 3.9/5
Recognition: Enlisted one of the 12 best Indian novels in 2020 by the Independent’s Emma Lee-Potter
Plot: The novel has masterfully recast the 2,000-year-old epic battle of the Mahabharata with fictional but highly recognizable events and characters from twentieth-century Indian politics. Chronicling the Indian struggle for freedom and independence from Great Britain, the author directs his hilarious satire as much against Indian foibles as the bumbling of the British rulers.
About the Author
Shashi Tharoor is a prolific writer, columnist, and journalist, as well as a human rights advocate with a vast political portfolio. Tharoor is also popular for his extravagant vocabulary and his impressive oratory skills. Most of his literary creations are centered on Indian themes and they are marked ‘Indo-nostalgic’.
Also Read: Why am I a Hindu?, Pax Indica: India and the World of 21st Century, An Era of Darkness, Riot
8. Kiran Desai’s ‘The Inheritance of Loss’
Year of Publication: 2006
Ratings: 3.4/5
Recognition: Man Booker Prize in 2006, National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award in 2007
Plot: Kiran Desai’s novel is a story of joy and despair. The plot revolves around an embittered judge whose only desire is to retire in peace. He lives in a crumbling, isolated house at the foot of Mount Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. When his orphaned granddaughter, Sai, arrives on his doorstep, the judge’s cook watches over her distractedly, for his thoughts are often on his son, Biju, who is hopscotching from one gritty New York restaurant to another.
About the Author
Daughter of Anita Desai, another acclaimed Indian author, Kiran Desai has been enlisted as one of the 20 ‘most influential’ global Indian women by The Economic Times in 2015. Moreover, she is regarded as one of the popular Indian authors who have beautifully captured Indian tales in her writings.
Also Read: Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
9. Salman Rushdie’s ‘Midnight’s Children’
Year of Publication: 1981
Ratings: 4/5
Recognition: Booker Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981
Plot: Saleem Sinai was born at the midnight of India’s independence, and found himself mysteriously ‘handcuffed to history by the coincidence. He is one of 1,001 children born at the midnight hour, each of them endowed with an extraordinary talent—and whose privilege and curse it is to be both master and victim of their times. Through Saleem’s gifts—inner ear and wildly sensitive sense of smell—we are drawn into a fascinating family saga set against the vast, colorful background of India in the 20th century.
About the Author:
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie is a popular Indian novelist and essayist. His most popular novel, The Satanic Verses, drew wide attention and has been banned in several countries. It led to protests from Muslims in several countries, some of which were violent. In June 2007, Rushdie was appointed a Knight Bachelor for “services to literature”.
Also Read: The Satanic Verses, Shalimar the Clown, The Moor’s Last Sight
Along with these books, we have another special mention which you should read.
10. Vikram Suryawanshi’s ‘A Man with a White Shadow‘
Year of Publication: 2021
Ratings: 4.75/5
Find it on: Amazon, Bookflow, Readers Meet
Plot: An amazing novel, A Man with a White Shadow, has a philosophical touch and explains numerous aspects of life. The story revolves around three male protagonists, Karan, Arjun, and Rutvik who have completely different and independent views about life. The unique factor about this book is its interesting storyline that features Lord Ganesha; he wishes to spread words of wisdom after visiting the Earth and noticing the behaviors of humans. The storyline is very compelling and keeps you hooked till the end!
About the Author:
Vikram Suryawanshi is an Indian English Writer who uses simple language as a tool to explain complex pictures of life and creates captivating stories that touch hidden philosophies. After writing numerous celebrated short stories, A Man with a White Shadow is his debut novel.
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