The 15 most anticipated Indian books of 2024

The most important document on my phone is a list of all the books I have read in the last three years, segregated by month and then year, with each book rated out of five stars. As 2024 dawns bright and clear (hazy and filled for Indians), it’s time to reset the list: fortunately, there are plenty of new releases to look forward to in 2024.

From Salman Rushdie’s much awaited memoir about his 2022 stabbing and Ruskin Bond’s new book celebrating his 90th birthday to ’s debut novel and the explicit and educational diary of a sex therapist, 2024 brings with it a diverse range of books. Below, rounds up the best Indian books of 2024—for me (and you) to add to your list.

Following the death of her grandmother, Maria has stopped speaking—not because she can’t, but because she doesn’t want to. Now in a psychiatric hospital, she recalls her journey of being ‘just Maria’: a girl born into a Syrian Christian family in whose companions were a grandfather who she wandered around the village’s toddy shops with, a great aunt with dementia who challenged Maria’s position as the youngest in the family, a with a penchant for philosophy and several long dead family members.

Masterfully translated by Jayasree Kalathil, Sandhya Mary’s published by HarperCollins India is a sharp and humorous take on the ideas that define contemporary society, told through the story of a woman trying to find her place in the world. has been living under threat of assassination since 1989.

In August 2022, the Booker Prize winning author was stabbed ten times as he was about to give a public lecture in New York, even as several people attempted to hold the assailant back. Despite losing the use of one hand in sight in one eye, Rushdie stated in an interview with The New Yorker that his overwhelming feeling was gratitude at having survived.

In this much awaited memoir about his near death experience, Rushdie answers violence with art, reminding us of the power of words as he comes to terms with the unthinkable. Gripping and intimate, this Penguin Random House India publication is a meditation on life, , love, art—and finding the strength to stand up again.

Marking Anjali Kajal's long overdue debut in English, is a collection of short stories published by Penguin Random House India, drawing us into the ordinary lives of women in from Dalit points of view. Hard hitting because it reflects the realities and daily lives of marginalised communities in India, the book is an exploration of gender, caste and most importantly, resistance.

In the title story ‘Ma is Scared’, a mother anxiously awaits her daughter's return from work while deflecting comments from judgmental neighbours. ‘Pathways’ follows two boys, Vipul and Sanjay in their journey to get an engineering degree, uncovering the privilege of social capital as the two hail from vastly different backgrounds.

In another story, titled ‘History’, a girl—nameless, her sole identity being ‘Scheduled Caste’—struggles with casteism in college. Whether combating caste based disdain in the workplace or enduring the new blows that the pandemic landed upon the community, Kajal's characters find a resilience and a dignity that we can all learn from.

No one has a vocabulary like —and his latest book is all set to reinforce his mastery of the English language. In published by Aleph Book Company, India's greatest wordsmith Shashi Tharoor takes readers on a journey of discovery through a treasure house of astounding words. Published by HarperCollins India, is India’s first ever anthology of haikus.

Edited by Kynpham Sing Nongkynrih and Rimi Nath, the collection arrives in the aftermath of the long isolation of the , documenting experiences so nostalgic that one is reminded of what it feels like to be human. From young love to the despair of loneliness, from a child’s bed to a grandmother’s lap, this anthology has a bit of everything from both new and accomplished haiku artists.

is meant to be savoured as slowly as the late bloomer of Shillong, which is where its name comes from. In her 15 years working as a sex therapist, Neha Bhat has seen it all. A father who collapses into shame every time he tries to tell his son he is ; a much in love married couple who are at their wits end about why they have no desire for each other; a 25 year old whose childhood trauma has taken physical manifestation every time she has sex.

Bhat’s work has taken her through the length and breadth of Indian cities and towns, often showing her that and shame are different sides of the same coin. With HarperCollins India, Bhat hopes to break this pattern: part psychoeducation and part self help, this first of its kind book presents the reader with simple challenges and questions to reframe their perspective on sex, sexual myths, relationships, kinks and fantasies and desire, helping them understand sexual maturity and sexual wellness.

This is a BTS of sexual desire and in India. In May 2024, India’s most loved writer will turn ninety. To celebrate this milestone, the prolific author—with a career spanning over 70 years and hundreds of books to his name—has written a new memoir, published by Aleph Book Company. contains stories Bond has never told before about his life, his sources of , the people he has loved, the people he has lost, and a myriad other absorbing details about his long and successful life as a writer.

In this non fiction title, acclaimed journalist Neha Dixit traces the life of one woman and her family over the course of thirty years in harrowing detail. Spanning from the early 1990s to the present day, the Juggernaut Books publication shows us what it means to be a poor woman in today’s India.

2024 marks the fiftieth year of 's glorious cinematic journey. In this official biography, Nayak captures the luminary's legendary acting career: from her process of inhabiting the iconic characters she plays to her evolution as an actor, in addition behind the scenes memories and anecdotes.

Alongside documenting her artistic inclinations and activism, the book will also delve into Shabana Azmi, the person. From her growing up in a commune to her life in Janaki Kutir, from the influences of Kaifi Azmi's poetry and communism to the and theatre of Shaukat Azmi shaping her worldview—this Penguin Random House India biography paints a complete portrait of the iconic actor, capturing her true essence.

There are few Indians who aren’t familiar with a verse or two of Gulzar’s. HarperCollins India’s is a definitive collection of Gulzar’s , comprising six volumes of poems. The first volume, , was written four decades ago; the last, , in 2004. Collected together for the first time and newly translated into English by Rakshanda Jalil (with the original poem appearing on the opposite page in Devanagari script), the many hundreds of poems bear witness to a remarkable poetic journey.

Published by Penguin Random House India, this speculative fiction novel plays out in an unnamed city in an unnamed country where Priyamvada (or Poppy) and Tariq are in love. In a few hours, Tariq is meant to propose to her. Things take an unexpected turn when the narrative splits in two. One segment follows all that does happen including Poppy’s impulsive dalliance with Yuvraj and her continued association with Tariq, now wedded to her oldest friend, Yana.

The other approaches what could have been—Poppy’s decision to ignore Yuvraj and fix things with Tariq and her eventual marriage to Tariq. All of this transpires against the backdrop of a transforming: every citizen’s life is now governed by a scorecard, with the degree of access to housing and work dictated by how they fared.

The scores, in turn, are governed by parentage and religion; by the social acceptability of a marriage; and by whether a woman can give birth. The laws are unforgiving—and no matter the narrative thread that is followed, Tariq and Poppy cannot remain untouched. In his newest novel, prolific author Manu Pillai brings to light a forgotten slice of history, writing about the startling colonial connections that have shaped independent India’s narrative.

examines the influence of the West on Indian beliefs, chronicling the lives of remarkable men and women who were instrumental in shaping India's self image today. Travelling through the eighteenth century to the present, the novel explores everything from , religion and gender, extrapolating the manner in which the dynamics of the colonial age continue to affect India even today.

In comedian Kanan Gill’s wildly entertaining and inventive debut novel published by HarperCollins India, a celebrated has been relegated to spending his days supervising a trifling project, but is secretly obsessively creating and destroying universes. The bumbling private detective P Manjunath and his long suffering assistant Heng have embarked on a trans continental adventure to investigate a series of seemingly unrelated disasters.

A Danish accidentally becomes a clothing optional leader of a worldwide group of Science Haters, a sentient piece of wall struggles with the limits of its artistic expression and a lapel pin’s habit of always giving truthful advice results in utter chaos. A delightful alchemy of humour, imaginativeness and philosophical provocations, marks the evolution of one of India’s finest comedic voices and is one of the most awaited Indian books of 2024.

In this Juggernaut Books publication set to release later this month, author and Infosys founder Narayan Murthy let readers into their lives like never before. Penned by prolific author , the memoir follows the love story of the two public figures, telling a tale of determination, compromise and endurance.

At its heart, Banerjee believes, is the story of two ordinary people falling in love, refusing to compromise on their value systems and as a result, inspiring a nation to follow their dreams. Ganja or indica or Cannabis sativa has been used in a variety of ways in the subcontinent for centuries. In this non fiction publication published by Aleph Book Company known as the first major biography of ganja, Karan Madhok travels to every corner of the country, delving into the medical and scientific uses of cannabis as well as the central place it occupies in the counter culture of the subcontinent..