Stark vision of India

The Peacock Throne Author: Sujit Saraf Publisher: Sceptre, 754 pages WHAT’s with the explosion of novels from Indian writers? Could it have something to do with Kiran Desai’s Man Booker Prize? Or the buzz surrounding Monica Ali’s Brick Lane? Names I would normally associate with silks, embroidery and curry powder are showing up in bookstore shelves and best-seller lists. Now, waves of hopefuls from the subcontinent are on the horizon. And many of these Indian-sounding authors don’t even live in India. One of them happens to be Sujit Saraf, who made his debut with The Peacock Throne, an impressive novel that celebrates India’s turbulent socio-political climate in the dying throes of the last millennium. We are taken on a whirlwind tour of the period between 1984 and 1998, seen through the eyes of some colourful characters. The... [read full story]