The 10 Best Indian Authors

When it comes to choosing a book to read from a pile of really good books, it is not an easy task. So here is some of the best novels by the Indian writers for all the bibliophiles out there to experience a literary roller coaster

• The Guide by R. K. Narayan

One of Narayan's best work set in the fictional village of Malgudi. The Guide is a story of a tour guide who transforms himself into a Spiritual Guru and then becomes the greatest holy man of India. In 1960 it won the Sahitya Akademi Award and was also adapted into a film with the same name starring the legendary Dev Anand.

• Shame by Salman Rushdie

Published in 1983, it is Rushdie's third novel and like his other works, consists magic realism. The theme of the book is that violence is borne out of shame. Rushdie with sheer perfection explores the concepts of 'shame' and 'shamelessness' through all his characters.

• The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

The debut novel by Arundhati Roy is a masterpiece. It tells the story of fraternal twins and how little things can make a huge difference in the lives and behaviour of many. This bestseller ago won the Booker Prize Award in 1997.

• Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh

Set against the backdrop of Swadeshi Movements, War, along with the Partition of India and communal riots 1963-64on one hand and the Second World War on the other, the Sahitya Akademi Award winner book is based in the cities of Calcutta and Dhaka. It is a narrative out of an intricate web of memories of many people and never pretends to tell a story.

• A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

Published in 1993, this book is set in the Post Independence era. The novel is the story of four families over a time span of one and a half year where a mother is in search of a suitable boy who would marry her daughter.

• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

A collection of nine stories. All the characters are so well portrayed that you can relate to a wife feeling lonely in a new unfamiliar home and culture, an old gatekeeper or a young college student having an affair with a married man. Lahiri keeps her central characters flawed but their familiar human qualities make them stand out in a crowd. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction and Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.

• Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh

Train To Pakistan is a story of a Sikh boy who falls in love with a Muslim girl and how their love transcends all communal hatred during the rivalry between the Muslims and the Sikhs that triggered because of a train filled with dead bodies. Along with political events, Singh also provides a sense of horror, reality and humanness. The book was adapted into a film in 1998.

• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry

Rohinton's second novel is set in Bombay during the turmoil between 1975-1984. A Fine Balance is a novel about four individuals who hail from different background and come together to form a bond.

• Palace Of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Devakurni

Penned down by the award winning novelist and poet Chitra Banerjee Devakurni in 2008, Palace of Illusions is a rendition of the epic poem Mahābhārata through Draupadi's eyes. It narrates the epic poem from the viewpoint of a woman living in a patriarchal society.

• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Filled with wittiness and humour, this book is a powerful one. Desai magically captured the most abstract feelings with the exact words. The author paints a picture of the inner struggles of each character could not have been done better. It is a book written with great honesty.