April's reading list includes a memoir on homelessness and two classic Tamil translations

Barry RodgersPublished on Apr 11, 2023

Another month, another fresh set of releases to get your hands on.

Our April booklist reveals a spark of shared humanity. Sure, their subjects run the gamut—from a feminist revenge story to a tale centred on the protagonist who discovers she’s lesbian and dyslexic, and a novel that describes a love story within social caste-induced hatred. But in every story, readers will be able to relate to the emotions and experiences that are largely universal. Here are five titles on our radar.

The Bandit Queens by Parini ShroffThe book is centred around Geeta, a widow in a small village in India. She is rumoured to have killed her no-good husband, but she knows he abandoned her. However, she finally gives up protesting her innocence and decides to let her nebulous reputation work in her favour. There are women who come to her for help to get rid of their good-for-nothing husbands. The husbands targeted are rapists and child abusers, among other things. The casual cruelty inflicted on women is stomach-turning—beatings, locking them out during a monsoon, and more. How the women in the village band together to overcome the obstacles of patriarchy and gender/race/caste discrimination makes for an enjoyable read.Publisher: HarperCollins India — **The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff**
The book is centred around Geeta, a widow in a small village in India. She is rumoured to have killed her no-good husband, but she knows he abandoned her. However, she finally gives up protesting her innocence and decides to let her nebulous reputation work in her favour. There are women who come to her for help to get rid of their good-for-nothing husbands. The husbands targeted are rapists and child abusers, among other things. The casual cruelty inflicted on women is stomach-turning—beatings, locking them out during a monsoon, and more. How the women in the village band together to overcome the obstacles of patriarchy and gender/race/caste discrimination makes for an enjoyable read.
**Publisher:** HarperCollins India

Migrants: The Story of Us All by Sam MillerSam Miller has transformed an often tedious and touchy subject into a thought-provoking, insightful, and deeply moving read, guaranteed to add nuance to your worldview. He posits that humans are inherently a migratory species, and our migratory rather than sedentary nature forms the basis of our society. He illustrates this point by explaining key historical events such as the first migration out of Africa, the creation of Western civilisation, and the impacts of colonialism and slavery. Despite the book’s expansive nature, all the stories are digestible, and Miller creates an immersive narrative that allows you to not only learn about but also vicariously experience the lives of our ancestors. Between each chapter, Miller shares personal anecdotes that add a dose of humour and relatability, making the book both educational and entertaining.Publisher: Hachette India — **Migrants: The Story of Us All by Sam Miller**
Sam Miller has transformed an often tedious and touchy subject into a thought-provoking, insightful, and deeply moving read, guaranteed to add nuance to your worldview. He posits that humans are inherently a migratory species, and our migratory rather than sedentary nature forms the basis of our society. He illustrates this point by explaining key historical events such as the first migration out of Africa, the creation of Western civilisation, and the impacts of colonialism and slavery. Despite the book’s expansive nature, all the stories are digestible, and Miller creates an immersive narrative that allows you to not only learn about but also vicariously experience the lives of our ancestors. Between each chapter, Miller shares personal anecdotes that add a dose of humour and relatability, making the book both educational and entertaining.
**Publisher:** Hachette India

Pyre by Perumal MuruganOriginally published in Tamil in 2013 and subsequently translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan in 2016, we’re revisiting this classic in honour of it being longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023—the first Tamil work to be selected for the prize. In the novel, young love is pitted against social discrimination in rural Tamil Nadu in the 1980s. Compelling and powerful, it paints a grim picture of the dark side of human nature and the ill-effects of certain social beliefs and practices that promote hatred, discrimination and violence. When Saroja and Kumaresan fall in love, they remain hopeful that their love can withstand all resistance and change how society perceives such relationships that defy age-old social norms. Their naïveté and misplaced hopefulness—mostly Kumaresan’s inability to comprehend the possible dangers they could face when the entire community and his family stand against them—starkly contrasts the hatred displayed by his family and fellow villagers.Publisher: Penguin Random House India — **Pyre by Perumal Murugan**
Originally published in Tamil in 2013 and subsequently translated into English by Aniruddhan Vasudevan in 2016, we’re revisiting this classic in honour of it being longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023—the first Tamil work to be selected for the prize. In the novel, young love is pitted against social discrimination in rural Tamil Nadu in the 1980s. Compelling and powerful, it paints a grim picture of the dark side of human nature and the ill-effects of certain social beliefs and practices that promote hatred, discrimination and violence. When Saroja and Kumaresan fall in love, they remain hopeful that their love can withstand all resistance and change how society perceives such relationships that defy age-old social norms. Their naïveté and misplaced hopefulness—mostly Kumaresan’s inability to comprehend the possible dangers they could face when the entire community and his family stand against them—starkly contrasts the hatred displayed by his family and fellow villagers.
**Publisher:** Penguin Random House India

The Abyss by JeyamohanPothivelu Pandaram is known as a successful and God-fearing man in town—he has a loyal wife, three daughters and ample money to pay for their dowries. However, it is an open secret that a tawdry yet deeply profitable trade fuels his success—for he owns a group of physically deformed beggars and places them outside various temples to make money for him. The beggars are mere ‘items’ to Pandaram, hardly human, to be bought and sold like cattle. But when the novel descends into their world—the world of the ‘abyss’—and places the reader in their midst, it takes a marvellous, unexpected turn.Publisher: Juggernaut Books — **The Abyss by Jeyamohan**
Pothivelu Pandaram is known as a successful and God-fearing man in town—he has a loyal wife, three daughters and ample money to pay for their dowries. However, it is an open secret that a tawdry yet deeply profitable trade fuels his success—for he owns a group of physically deformed beggars and places them outside various temples to make money for him. The beggars are mere ‘items’ to Pandaram, hardly human, to be bought and sold like cattle. But when the novel descends into their world—the world of the ‘abyss’—and places the reader in their midst, it takes a marvellous, unexpected turn.
**Publisher:** Juggernaut Books

Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India by K. VaishaliThis memoir documents the author’s days spent introspecting in her own company as she is forced to leave her Mumbai home after coming out to her mother as lesbian; at first, in a co-rented flat in Ahmedabad and then in a UoH hostel, left to fend for herself devoid of the comforts, yet burdened with the ongoing challenges of dyslexia and dysgraphia. The memoir, for the major part, revolves around this conflict—a type of parenting, the end goal of which is to prepare children for marriage and reproduction, or simply, to affirm that their children are as capable and qualified as children of other community members.Publisher: Simon & Schuster India — **Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India by K. Vaishali**
This memoir documents the author’s days spent introspecting in her own company as she is forced to leave her Mumbai home after coming out to her mother as lesbian; at first, in a co-rented flat in Ahmedabad and then in a UoH hostel, left to fend for herself devoid of the comforts, yet burdened with the ongoing challenges of dyslexia and dysgraphia. The memoir, for the major part, revolves around this conflict—a type of parenting, the end goal of which is to prepare children for marriage and reproduction, or simply, to affirm that their children are as capable and qualified as children of other community members.
**Publisher:** Simon & Schuster India

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April's reading list includes a memoir on homelessness and two classic Tamil translations

Another month, another fresh set of releases to get your hands on.

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