It often falls to emerging writers to tell us the stories we didn’t know we needed to hear, and this 2016’s standout promising authors did just that. These publications presented a dizzying array of voices and styles that challenged our preconceived notions of tales at every turn. These stories range in subject matter, but they tend to revolve around intense, disjointed relationships.
Sudeep Nagarkar, Few Things Left Unsaid
Few Things Left Unsaid is a heart touching college based story. The novel is about a couple named Aditya and Riya. They meet each other through friends and fall in love. As they come closer to each other tragedy strikes. They break up.
Will they be able to make things better between them or is this the end of their love story? What are the twists and turns coming on their way? Read Few Things left Unsaid to get the answer.
Sarvat Hasin, The Wide Night
Courtesy: Penguin Random House India
The Maliks live a life of relative freedom in 1970s Karachi: Four beautiful sisters, Maria, Ayesha, Leila and Beena, are warily watched over by an unconventional mother. Captain Malik is usually away and so the women forge the rules of their own universe, taking in a few men: Amir, the professor who falls in love with Maria and Jamal or Jimmy, the neighbor who tells this tale. The curious young man is drawn in by all four sisters and particularly by rebellious Ayesha. But slowly, it becomes clear he will never completely penetrate their circle—just as they will never completely move with the tide that swirls so potently around them.
In the quietly seething world of This Wide Night, virgin suicides meets little women in Pakistan. Moving from Karachi to London and finally to the rain-drenched island of Manora, here is a compelling new novel from the subcontinent—and a powerful debut to watch.
Karishma Attari, Don’t Look Down
Courtesy: Penguin Random House India
Karishma Attari is a Mumbai-based writer, book reviewer and sunshine generator. She is the founder of The Super Readers Club, a reading programme for kids, and Shakespeare for Dummies, an enlightenment programme for everyday adults.
Alia may be turning eighteen, but (epic birthday parties aside) age is just a number to her now. Now that she’s been Changed, she knows no hunger, needs no sleep and has no human limitations.But it’s now that she’s trying desperately to hold on to her humanity. And the people she loves. When a haunting darkness returns to the family villa she is forced to confront old ghosts, chilling secrets and ultimately—herself. Everything has a price, after all and by striking a deal with the devil, you risk giving up the one thing you were never meant to lose. This poignant and un-put-downable sequel to I See You reveals that of all the demons we face, the most terrifying are the ones we own.
Novoneel Chakraborty, Black Suits You
Courtesy: Penguin Random House India
Black Suits You is the story of a 27-year-old Kiyan Roy, a reclusive author of the bestselling erotica trilogy, Handcuffs. When he appears in public for the first time to promote his books, his readers fall in love with his good looks and wit. However, one of them gets too close. Kiyan is followed and seduced by a mysterious girl who pursues him across cities, book events, hotels, luncheons, and media interviews. Soon, he becomes obsessed with her and falls for her charms.
As Kiyan gets sucked deeper and deeper into this dark and twisted love affair, he is forced to surrender all control. His life and career slowly begin to unravel as this girl leads him down a dangerous path. But is it already too late to rectify his mistakes? Will the path to desires end in doom? Black Suits You is a gripping, fast-paced and a clever psychosexual thriller that will keep you guessing till the end.
Ruchita Misra, Second Chance at Love
He’s broken. She’s beautiful. Together, can they be whole? Bindiya Saran is always cheerful – ask anyone who knows her. But her smiles hide a troubled past. When she is chosen to consult on a prestigious project for one of India’s largest conglomerates, she meets Samar ‘Satan’ Chauhan, the brooding mystery man no one can please. Bindiya and Samar come from different worlds, and they clash intensely. But, like the harshest of storms, unrest gives way to harmony, and much to their surprise, they find in each other the one thing neither thought they truly deserved: a second chance at love. Are Bindiya and Samar too broken to fully trust each other? Will they find the courage to reopen their hearts, forgive themselves and seek redemption in love? Tenderly gliding from heartbreak to heartache to healing, this is a book that will speak to anyone who has ever been in love.
Arunima Sinha, Born Again on the Mountain
National-level volleyball player Arunima Sinha was shoved off a moving train by thieves. The accident cost the twenty-four-year-old her left leg and sporting career, but it never deterred her. Two years later she retrained as a mountaineer and became the first female amputee to scale Mount Everest. Born Again on the Mountain is her unforgettable story, a brilliant memoir which was shortlisted for Crossword Book Award 2016.
Manu Pillai, The Ivory Throne: Chronicles Of The House Of Travancore
In 1498, when Vasco da Gama set foot in Kerala looking for Christians and spices, he unleashed a wave of political fury that would topple local powers like a house of cards. The cosmopolitan fabric of a vibrant trading society – with its Jewish and Arab merchants, Chinese pirate heroes and masterful Hindu Zamorins – was ripped apart, heralding an age of violence and bloodshed. One prince, however, emerged triumphant from this descent into chaos. Shrewdly marrying Western arms to Eastern strategy, Martanda Varma consecrated the dominion of Travancore, destined to become one of the most dutiful pillars of the British Raj. What followed was two centuries of internecine conflict in one of India’s premier princely states, culminating in a dynastic feud between two sisters battling to steer the fortunes of their house on the eve of Independence. Manu S. Pillai’s retelling of this sprawling saga focuses on the remarkable life and work of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last – and forgotten – queen of the House of Travancore.
Yasser Usman, Rekha: The Untold Story
Yasser Usman is B-Town’s new favourite writer. His first book Rajesh Khanna: The Untold Story of India’s First Superstar was well acclaimed by critics. And his second book on Rekha was shortlisted for Crossword Book Award 2016. He is a television journalist and film commentator. A recipient of the NT (News Television) Awards three years in a row, he worked for over a decade in leading News television like BAG films, Channel7 (IBN7) and currently in ABP News. He has also directed a documentary series on Sufism and has been a founder member of India’s first Iranian Film Club.
Bilal Siddiqui, Kiss of Life
Picked out from the life of popular actor Emraan Hashmi, ‘The Kiss Of Life’ is an autobiographical account of being shaken up in life when career and family is going on well. It begins around the time Hashmi’s acting career, after a long struggle, had stabilized and was on a high, when four-year-old son Ayaan was taken ill.
The book’s chapters constantly shuttle between the past and the present. On one account the story records the trails and trials of Hashmi’s rise as an actor and the second on, running in parallel chapters, reveals a caring father’s love for a child battling cancer.
Vivid memories of his childhood and his growth from a confused teenager to an unorthodox and successful actor are also brought to life in this book.
More than the actor, the book reveals the real Emraan Hashmi. Away from all lights, camera, action scenes, he is just a caring father whose life was shattered when his son was diagnosed with cancer and who left no leaf unturned to get back his son.
Arundhati Venkatesh, Bookasura
Courtesy: arundhativenkatesh.com
Arundhati Venkatesh is critics’ favorite children’s writer of the year. Her latest book Bookasura was Comic Con’s best publication of the year. When she is not cooking up stories or dreaming of food, she haunts bookstores and libraries in Bangalore.
“I went to school in five towns and worked in four continents. Everywhere, I made up stories. Now I put them down on paper.”
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