Books discussed today (in addition to the list of suggestions posted earlier)
Gandhi: An Autobiography – The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas K. Gandhi – fascinating story – recommended.
Sister of my Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni – story of two women raised as sisters in Calcutta and their lives and families – a pleasant novel by the author of Mistress of the Spices (not as highly recommended)
Lost Geography by Charlotte Bacon – not exactly about India but rugs from India were mentioned and it was highly recommended.
A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison – about sisters who lose everything in the tsunami and one winds up in the human trafficking horror. Highly recommended.
The Far Pavilions and Shadow of the Moon by M. M. Kaye – both long but well worth reading – set during the 19th century.
Slowly down the Ganges by Eric Newby (has several others with an Indian setting) – a classic of travel writing.
Being Mortal – Atul Gawande – includes the story of taking the ashes of his Father back to India to put them in the Ganges.
Burnt Shadows – Kamila Shamsie – main character is a Japanese woman who leaves Japan after the A-Bomb is dropped and goes to India where she meets the man she marries. They take a honeymoon at the time that India is partitioned and find themselves in Pakistan and unable to return to their home. Highly recommended even if not really about India.
Not Books:
Indian Summers – Masterpiece Theater drama that was on TV this summer and worth watching.
Outsourced – which I am sure I saw as a movie but shows up on-line as a “Complete series” so I assume it was made into a TV show by someone. American goes to Mumbai to run a call center.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – mentioned in passing – first one is much better than the sequel
OK – so the book I forgot to bring to the meeting I also forgot to put on the list – it is Maximum City by Suketu Mehta – non-fiction book written in 2004 by an Indian man who has been living in the US and returns to live in what was Bombay. Fascinating but didn’t make me want to go to India