Right now, I’m halfway through Kankana Basu’s Cappuccino Dusk. The introduction read ‘Nostalgia for the inherent shabbiness of Calcutta, for busty Bengali women in crumpled saris, for the sight of trams and for roadside tea that one sipped from little earthen pots smelling of rain and wet soil and which one smashed daintily after one finished one’s tea’ and I was enchanted and sold. I’m loving the book so much, I don’t want to finish it. Reading books by Indian authors is my new favourite thing. They’re filled with a kind of colourful imagery that leaves me completely spellbound. Plus I’ve only really read Jhumpa Lahiri and Arundhati Roy before so it’s nice to discover some new writing.
On my reading wishlist are currently Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh, Arrack in the Afternoon by Mathew Menacherry, Ravan and Eddie by Kiran Nagarkar, Dork by Sidin Vadukut and Vinegar Sunday also by Kankana Basu. If you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them.
