Books to curl up with this long weekend

Whether you’re headed for a getaway this weekend and want an accompaniment to the journey, or the book is the mini-vacation itself, I believe that there’s a title for every kind of reader. Here’s a list that has something for just about everyone:   

For the reader who loves history  

The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed The World, by William Dalrymple (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Perfectly in time for Independence Day, celebrated historian William Dalrymple highlights India's oft-forgotten position as a crucial economic and civilisational hub at the heart of the ancient and early medieval history of Eurasia in this interesting book. For much of modern history, India has been at the receiving end of diverse cultures, finding a home within its diversity. But in ancient times, the opposite was true: India sent out its philosophies, gemstones, spices, art, and medicines to the world, shaping civilisations along the way.

For the reader who loves poetry

The Penguin Book of Poems on the Indian City, edited by Bilal Moin (India Hamish Hamilton)

This fascinating anthology of poems takes the reader on a journey across 37 Indian cities. From Ghalib’s Delhi and Nissim Ezekiel’s Bombay to Agha Shahid Ali’s Srinagar and Kamala Das’s Calcutta, the likes of contemporary poets like Vikram Seth, Eunice de Souza, and Gulzar take the reader through depictions of cities as imperial capitals, colonial outposts and dynamic, ever-evolving spaces. 

For the reader who loves mysteries    

The Inheritance, by Trisha Sakhlecha (Pamela Dorman Books)  
 

The Agarwals have gathered on a private, luxury island off the west coast of Scotland for a much-anticipated family reunion. But everyone, from the tycoon husband to the fragile wife and each of their troubled children, is hiding secrets of their own. Will each survive this high-stakes reunion, or will someone become a victim of their own greed?

For the reader who loves food   

For The Love Of Apricots, by Madhulika Liddle (Speaking Tiger)

Nandini and her father stay in a small town in the Himalayas. She’s started a homegrown pickle-making business, and a series of events introduces her to Vikas Joshi, owner of an apricot orchard. Sparks fly, but are their gentle and feisty natures far too incompatible, or will love find a way? Find out in this quiet, romantic and sensitive story.

For the reader who loves journeys    

The Far Field, by Madhuri Vijay (Grove Press)

Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bengaluru, sets out for a remote Himalayan village. Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir's politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in.

For the reader who loves layered relationships    

Real Life, by Amrita Mahale (Hamish Hamilton)

In the remote Himalayas, wildlife biologist Tara has vanished. Her best friend, Mansi sets out to find answers. The prime suspect, Bhaskar, sits in police custody, his obsession with Tara laid bare, his testimony a labyrinth of contradictions and half-truths. As the investigation deepens, the valley reveals its mysteries, too.

Lead image: Communique PR  

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