Seven novels that let India’s smaller towns shine

Sneha Pathak is an independent writer and translator based in India. Her work has appeared in Business Standard, Scroll.in and Strange Horizons. She translates between Hindi and English.

At Electric Lit Pathak tagged seven novels that feature India’s smaller towns. One title on the list:

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

Kiran Desai’s novel moves between New York and Kalimpong, a small town in the Eastern Himalayan region, weaving the stories of multiple characters. There’s a retired, Cambridge-educated judge clinging to colonial ways; his granddaughter, Sai; and their cook’s son, Biju, an undocumented immigrant struggling in New York. The action unfolds during a tumultuous period in the region’s history as the Nepali-speaking majority demands its own state, turning the quiet, misty town into a “ghost town.” With the mighty Kanchenjunga looming over its treacherous terrain, a sharp class divide and political tensions on the rise, Kalimpong becomes an active presence shaping the trajectory of its characters’ lives.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Inheritance of Loss is among Geneva Abdul's five best postcolonial novels.

--Marshal Zeringue