The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World’s Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser (Harper Collins; Rs 699)
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A book that took six long years of research, Gevisser travels through nine countries talking to those who stand in the frontline for LGBTQ+ rights. In countries like South Africa, Russia, India and Egypt, activists, refugees, transgender women and the youth speak about the changing world order when it comes to gender rights. Releasing in August 2020, we hope to catch an in-depth glimpse into sexuality and gender roles that polarise the world today.
To Kill a Man: When Murder Looks Like Justice by Sam Bourne (Hachette India; Rs 399)
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A Sam Bourne thriller hasn’t disappointed us yet and this one shall, hopefully, not be any different. Sewing together American politics and the death of a supposed assaulter, this is the tale of Natasha Winthrop, a political star, all set to become the president of the country. However, there are discrepancies in her narration of the fateful evening when an attacker was found dead in her house. Will the gaps in her stories be filled on time as White House investigates deep into Winthrop’s past? Pick up the book to find out!
Lallan Sweets by Srishti Chaudhary (Penguin; Rs 299)
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The author gave us Once Upon a Curfew last year and she returns with the tale of Tara Taneja in a small town of Siyaka, this year. A love story woven into the fight between cousins to find the mysterious ingredient in their grandfather’s sweet shop laddoos, in an effort to inherit the shop, Tara’s search takes her through Mathura and Ludhiana. We are hoping to catch a glimpse of rural India as love brews between Tara and her neighbour Nikku Sabharwal. Who would mind a large dose of ‘sweet’ love in the middle of a global pandemic?
Joy At Work: Organizing Your Professional Life by Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein (Pan Macmillan; Rs 699)
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If you have derived ‘joy’ from watching Marie Kondo clean up messy houses on Netflix’s popular reality show Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, it’s time to let her into your professional life as well. Dealing with clutter at the workplace, be it your desk or your email inbox, this book is a ready reckoner for a decluttered mind and the application of the KonMari method. Improve the way you work and the space you work through these tips that come from her as well as organisational psychologist Scott Sonenshein.
The Chain by Adrian McKinty (Orion, Rs 499)
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If Ian Rankin and Stephen King approve, this must be a book that needs our attention. The Chain is a gripping tale of a child who has been kidnapped. The condition of the release is the parents kidnap another child. It is only when the victim’s parents kidnap another child, will their child be released and thus is formed ‘the chain’. An original and explosive plot line definitely has us hooked and this will surely keep the thrill-seeker in you engaged for a while.
Camino Winds by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton; Rs 399)
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Publisher Bruce Cable investigates the mysterious death of his friend and thriller novelist Nelson Kerr. Certain signs on Nelson’s body do not suggest that it was the devastating work of Hurricane Leo that sweeps across the Camino Islands but the hurricane does prove to be a good ally for the murderer, whoever it was. As Bruce tries to find ties between Nelson’s last works and his death, the plot and air thicken on the island. It’s John Grisham’s latest offering in 2020, need we say more?
Intimations by Zadie Smith (Penguin; to be launched in August 2020)
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As hours turn into days and we lose track of time and our idea of reality, who better to give voice to our muddled thoughts and ideas than Zadie Smith? In a collection of short essays written during the early days of lockdown, she peeks into this new reality that the world has woken up to and our perceptions of those who surround us. We can expect profound thoughts, dollops of compassion and depths of thinking that can only help us a on clearer path to navigating the ‘new future’ that is almost here.
A Ballad of Remittent Fever by Ashoke Mukhopadhyay and translated from the Bengali by Arunava Sinha (Aleph; Rs 699)
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Originally published in the Bengali as Abiram Jwarer Roopkatha, this book is deep-dive into 20th century Calcutta, documenting the life of a radical physician Dwarikanath Ghoshal who fights to save the population from diseases like plague, typhoid, malaria and cholera. From changing his religion to Christianity to buying corpses to dissect them, this rebel doctor’s tale continues for three more generations after him, introducing interesting characters as the world goes through World War I.