BOOKSHELF | New books on the shelves

Published : Aug 10, 2023 11:00 IST - 3 MINS READ Drop of the Last Cloud Sangeetha G Ukiyoto Publishing Rs.300 Set in Travancore in a tumultuous period, when its old matrilineal system is changing, the novel explores the life of a woman from the feudal class, who tries to refashion herself as old certainties collapse. ___ The Zamindar’s Ghost Khayaal Patel HarperCollins India Rs.299 In this homage to the campy horror movies of 1980s Bollywood, the thriller has an idyllic town, a haunted manor, the conflicted scion of a zamindar family, unexplained deaths, and spies acting for Indian revolutionaries against the British East India Company in 1933. ___ A Plain, Blunt Man: The Essential Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Edited by Urvish Kothari Aleph Book Company Rs.799 This anthology brings together the writings of one of India’s most prominent founding fathers on subjects such as the accession of princely kingdoms, Indian secularism, the need to protect the interests of minorities, his distaste for sectarian politics, his belief in the idea of a plural India, and much else besides. ___ Bombay Talkies: An Unseen History of Indian Cinema Edited by Debashree Mukherjee Mapin Publishing Rs.2,880 Published in association with The Alkazi of Collection of Photography, New Delhi, this book presents rare photographs of the early days of Indian cinema shot by the cinematographer Josef Wirsching, who was employed at the film studio Bombay Talkies Limited, along with essays by scholars and film historians that help us understand the historical and imaginative value of Wirsching’s photographic archive. ___ Wish List The Passenger Cormac McCarthy Picador ___ The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories Jamil Jan Kochai Viking ___ The Trackers Charles Frazier Fourth Estate ___ If I Survive You Jonathan Escoffery Fourth Estate ___ Deadly Quiet City: True Stories from Wuhan Murong Xuecun The New Press ___ Mother Tongue: The Surprising History of Women’s Words Jenni Nuttall Viking ___ City of Men: Masculinities and Everyday Morality on Public Transport Romit Chowdhury Rutgers University Press ___ Anaïs Nin: A Sea of Lies Léonie Bischoff; translated by Jenna Allen Fantagraphics