Don DeLillo’s Cold Wars Don DeLillo’s Cold Wars
His 1980s novels take the story of America’s postwar years, usually seen as a triumphal rise to perpetual dominance, and converts it into one about a long and chaotic decline.
Jun 26, 2023 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
The Blinding Clarity of John Le Carré The Blinding Clarity of John Le Carré
His novels of imperial decline speak to a world that has remained at war since his youth.
Dec 17, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
J.M. Coetzee’s States of Exile J.M. Coetzee’s States of Exile
In writing an allegory that is barely an allegory and a trilogy of novels that are often not novels, Coetzee appears to have made his own literary displacement total.
Jul 14, 2020 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
What Is India? What Is India?
Why India’s boom years have been a bust.
Sep 16, 2014 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
The Girl From F&B: A Portrait of the New India The Girl From F&B: A Portrait of the New India
Esther studied botany and biochemistry, and ended up serving Cokes to arms dealers in Delhi’s Hotel Shangri-La. She is a station holder, occupied and rootless. Welcome to Ind...
Jul 12, 2011 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
The Idea of England The Idea of England
In the Falling Snow suggests that Caryl Phillips's considerable talents have further calcified into a mannered style.
Apr 28, 2010 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
City of Shards: The Novels of Elias Khoury City of Shards: The Novels of Elias Khoury
Elias Khoury and the literature of witness.
Nov 13, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
The Spoils of Indian Democracy The Spoils of Indian Democracy
Two new books show how perceptions of India have been shaped and distorted by rhapsodic portrayals of its business elite.
Mar 8, 2007 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb
Subcontinental Homesick Blues Subcontinental Homesick Blues
Nearly twenty years ago, in a village in the western Indian state of Rajasthan, a young woman called Roop Kanwar was burned to death at her husband's funeral pyre.
Dec 9, 2004 / Books & the Arts / Siddhartha Deb