Are you confused about which book to read next? Are you searching for the best Indian books and novels by Indian authors to read? Do you have a particular genre in mind?
Don’t Worry!
Indian English Literature has come a long way – from just a few English books releasing a year previously to thousands of new titles launching every year now.
In 2020, India’s book market is valued at an with an estimated Rs 739 billion. India ranks second, after the US, in English language publishing with over 9000 publishers.
From a humble start in the 20th century, after Independence, India published 21,600 new English titles in 2010.
With so many books releasing and Indian literature developing by leaps and bounds, it can be a daunting task to find the best Indian novels amongst the lot.
To make this easier, we have compiled this list of “Best Indian Books” of all the different categories and genres.
NOTE: We have not included books by many award-winning authors of Indian-origin like Salman Rushdie (The Satanic Verses, Midnight’s Children), Jhumpa Lahiri (The Namesake), V.S. Naipaul (A Bend in the River), Rohinton Mistry (A Fine Balance) etc.
(Click on an genre to navigate to the particular section)
The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works, the novel is based on Malgudi, the fictional town in South India.
The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India.
The novel brought its author the 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English.
