TOP 10
TOP 10 INDIAN ENGLISH LITERATURE
01
MAHATMA GANDHI- THE STORY OF
MY EXPERIENCES WITH TRUTH
The autobiography is mainly in a chronological
order with chapters of one or two episodes of
Gandhi’s life. The small incidents which turned
into big events, the little pieces that gathered
together to result into big decisions in Indian
history and of course, the politics.
YEAR: 1929
AUTHOR: MAHATMA GANDHI
02
THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS
The debut novel of Arundhati Roy, is a story about
seven year old twins whose lives are destroyed by
unrealistic laws that lay down ‘who should be loved,
and how and how much’. The book is full of humor
and emotions. Definitely a must read.
YEAR: 1997
AUTHOR: ARUNDHATI ROY
03
MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN
The epic story of the birth of modern India. The
New York review of books called it ‘one of the most
important books to come out of the English-speaking
world in this generation’. Given Midnight children’s
weighty reputation, you’ll experience the simple
pleasure from Rushdie’s Writing.
YEAR: 1981
AUTHOR: SALMAN RUSHDIE
04
THE GUIDE
RK Narayan has got that dose of humorous satire
like no other. The guide is tale of destiny, love,
treachery and faith. Not to wonder, the story took
place in Malgudi. It’s extraordinarily funny yet
serious. To go literal it’s actually a guide to light
up the paths of your life!
YEAR: 1958
AUTHOR: R.K. NARAYAN
05
A SUITABLE BOY
After writing the golden gate in 1986, Vikram seth
came up with his new novel.
At two feet high in typescript, and 1,349 pages when
published in hardback, it was the longest novel ever
written in the English language. "A very large novel
written by a very small Indian," as Seth puts it.
YEAR: 1993
AUTHOR: VIKRAM SETH
06
MAXIMUM CITY
Mehta has managed to paint a rich and intimate
portrait of Bombay, one informed by a journalist’s
eye and a homecoming heart.
YEAR: 2004
AUTHOR: SUKETU MEHTA
07
MALGUDI DAYS
Yet another and most famous piece by RK Narayan.
It has 30 plus stories of different people and their
lives, based in an imaginary town called Malgudi.
Years ago, a TV series with the same name was
released. The book is a pure classic and a must
read for every Indian.
YEAR: 1987
AUTHOR: R.K. NARAYAN
08
A TRAIN TO PAKISTAN
1947 AD, the year of trauma for the Country.
‘Train to Pakistan’ is a tale of the small village
located at the border of India and Pakistan which
connote the picture of the whole nation. Do read
this heart-rending story of a never forgotten time.
YEAR: 1956
AUTHOR: KHUSHWANT SINGH
09
SHADOW LINES
The chronicles of freedom movement, the partition
of India and all other historic events has described
In the book. Though Ghosh did not use the term
nationalism anywhere but he uttered this term in
every phase of incidents. Both the traditional and
modern concept of nationality, identity and
national boundary has been depicted in the book.
YEAR: 1988
AUTHOR: AMITAV GHOSH
10
A FINE BALANCE
A book totally worth reading. It depicts the dignity,
heroism, morality, cruelty and corruption of the
country. The story took place in 1975 in a place near
the sea. The writer had narrated every part of the
story much effectively.
YEAR: 1995
AUTHOR: ROHINTON MISTRY
