The best in Indian fiction 2021

The best in Indian fiction 2021:  

Historically, each time we have been surprised by the bizarreness of a particular event, we have turned to fiction. Trump’s election as the American President saw Orwell’s prophetic parsing of authoritarian power in 1984 fly of the shelves, and Huxley’s trippy Brave New World similarly became a perennial bestseller. While compiling the best Indian novels of 2021, we sieved the list through the lenses of stories that spoke to the times we live in through the most compelling, relatable, and honest characters.

“Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth,” Camus is said to have famously written in an essay. And we couldn’t agree more. Unpretentious, genuinely readable, featuring an eclectic host of characters across religion, caste, sexuality and loaded with quirks – this list has it all.

 

The best in Indian fiction 2021: 

1. The Earthspinner by Anuradha Roy

2. The Thinnai by Ari Gautier 

3. Gold Diggers by Sanjena Sathian

4. A House Full of Men by Parinda Joshi

5. Theeyoor Chronicles by N Prabhakaran

6. Karya by Aravind Mallagatti

7. The Lesbian Cow and Other Stories by Indu Menon

8. The Illuminated by Anindita Ghose 

9. The Unmarriageable Man by Ashok Ferrey

10. Second World War Sandwich by Digonta Bordoloi

11. A Red-Necked Green Bird by Ambai

12. The Lovers of Rampore by Ashok Chopra

13. The Begum and the Dastan by Taran Husain Khan

14. Life in the Clock Tower Valley by Shakoor Rather

15. A Time Outside This Time by Amitava Kumar

16. A Mirror Made of Rain by Naheed Phiroze Patel