Literary Armchair Traveler: India

Due to my lack of, ahem, disposable income, most of my traveling is of the armchair persuasion.  This week's Literary Armchair Traveling destination is somewhere on my travel bucket list:  India!

A few favorites from my personal library:

1.  Serious Men by Manu Joseph
"Ayyan Mani, a member of India's lowest caste and resident of the slums of Mubmai, discovers an illicit romance between his married boss and a married female researcher at the institute where he works."  (courtesy of the Strand website)


2.  Gandhi: An Autobiography
"Gandhi recounts his life, describing the development of his nonviolent political protest movement and discussing his religious beliefs."   (courtesy of the Strand website)


3.  The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (LOVED this book!)
"Winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2006. This 'magnificent novel of humane breadth and wisdom, comic tenderness and powerful political acuteness' examines identity, displacement and the indissoluble bonds of family. Ms. Desai's second novel is set in a remote corner of India against a backdrop of growing Nepalese unrest, and in the streets of Manhattan, where illegal immigrants try to make a living while eluding authorities. The book is a consummate, impassioned undertaking of a simmering contemporary issue with worldwide implications: the enormous anxiety of being a foreigner."  (courtesy of the Strand website)


4.  Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah MacDonald
"A popular Australian radio correspondent humorously recounts her reluctant relocation to New Delhi, India, where a dangerous illness propelled her to explore the region's culture and spirituality in order to discover its virtues as well as a greater understanding about life and death."   (courtesy of the Strand website)


5.  Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found by Suketu Mehta
"Mehta, a native of Bombay, provides a true insider's portrait of Bombay and its people, approaching the city from unexpected angles: the criminal underground of rival Muslim and Hindu gangs; the life of a bar dancer and her involvement with the fantastic, hierarchical world of Bollywood; and, the stories of countless people who come from the villages in search of a better life but end up living on the sidewalks."  (courtesy of the Strand website)