VINTAGE BOOKS

For some people, home is nowhere. They feel out of place--they are adrift, the stranger in the crowd. It's as if they are forever walking around in shoes that don't fit. Can they find a home, imperfect as it may be? Sometimes, all it takes is a place at the other end of the world--or a person. Nita, a teacher in Kerala, is desperate for a better-paying job and accepts one in Dubai. It is the 1990s, and Dubai is just becoming a boom town. Everything is changing. But Nita struggles to adjust to the city as an immigrant. Her job as a live-in tutor for a young girl puts her in an unfamiliar, servile role with a wealthy family. Nita starts telling the child's mother a story from ancient India, where Darius, a sailor, arrives at an Indian port seeking his fortune. As she tells this tale, making it up as she goes, she finds that she's no longer alone. This is a two-headed story--the narrators Nita and Darius are nested inside each other like Russian dolls. They are both outsiders in unfamilia

PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD IN FICTION • A NEW YORKER BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR • From one of our most accomplished novelists, a mesmerizing story about a mother and daughter seeking refuge in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War—and a brilliant portrait of family endurance against all oddsIn 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.The omnipresent vagaries of war and race rise to the surface as we

Karpoori Thakur, often called Jannayak, was a legendary leader from Bihar who had a significant impact on India's politics. In early 2024, he was posthumously honoured with the Bharat Ratna in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to society. Commemorating his birth centenary, this gripping biography brings to light the life, legacy and enduring relevance of Thakur. It focuses on Karpoori Thakur's politics, which introduced 'quota within quota' and opens a window to his role in bifurcating reservation among the backward classes and women in 1978. Deeply researched, anecdotal and unputdownable, The Jannayak promises to be a beacon for readers seeking to understand the complex landscape of Indian politics and society.