Our 10 book recommendations for India

If you’re venturing solo on our India’s Golden Triangle, Tigers and Amritsar’s Golden Temple tour, or need some inflight reading material tick some of these stories set in India off your list.  

Perfect for diving into after a day of discovering Delhi by rickshaw or spotting tigers amongst the wilderness of Ranthambore National Park, this selection of literature ensures you’ll fall in love with India (even more!).  

If you’re after some more ideas, head over to TripFiction to see the full collection of India-based books.   

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey 

Inspired in part by a real woman who made history by becoming India’s first female lawyer, this is a richly wrought story of multicultural 1920s Bombay. 

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts 

 

The story of Lin, his travels, trials, the dilemmas he faces and the relationships he builds with individuals as he moves through the slums of Mumbai. 

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee 

 Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta and desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War. 

A House Called Askival by Merryn Glover 

 A sensitive, complex, moving and epic journey through the sights, sounds and often violent history of India from Partition to the present day. 

Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya 

  

The tender love story of Rukmani and Nathan, and their concern for their children, is contrasted with the family’s utter vulnerability to the forces of nature, capitalist industry, and poverty. 

A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry 

 A state of emergency has just been declared, and the lives of three characters are thrown together – living in a tiny apartment with an uncertain future. 

City of Djinns by William Dalrymple 

A riveting description of a year spent in Delhi and a fascinating portrait of a city with an array of amazing characters. 

Eden Gardens by Louise Brown 

  In a ramshackle house, streets away from the grand colonial mansions of the British, live Maisy, her Mam and their ayah, Pushpa. 

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff 

For Geeta, life as a widow is more peaceful than life as a wife until the other women in her village decide they want to be widows, too. 

The Mission House by Carys Davis 

This story boldly and imaginatively explores post-colonial ideas in a world fractured between faith and non-belief, young and old, imperial past and nationalistic present. 

*Book cover photos courtesy of TripFiction.