Novels set in Indian subcontinent?

[HolidaysQueen]

I'm looking for a Christmas present for DH. We've travelled a lot in India, Sri Lanka, and studied the Indian subcontinent in our degrees, so DH has always loved reading novels set in those countries. I'd like to get him one or two novels for Christmas, especially as they'll also be a good read for me later

His favourite novel ever is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry and I know he's also read and enjoyed Midnight's Children, The Glass Palace (can't think of the others of the top of my head).

Any suggestions of authors or specific novels?

Thanks

One night in the Call Centre

cant remember the author but its really authentic

I liked The End of Innocence by Moni Mohsen and Home, by Manju Kapoor, both family sagas. The Weary Generations, by Abdullah Hussein is highly acclaimed but I didn't really enjoy it

R K Narayan - try "A Malgudi Omnibus" - charming stories written from the mid-1930s onwards, set in the imaginary South Indian town of Malgudi.

My favourite novel ever is A fine Balance too! I've never been able to get on with Midnight's Children though.

I loved A Suitable Boy too even though it went on for months...

In order of preference:

The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy

Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

The Inheritance of Loss - Kiran Desai

Raj Quartet is lovely

Also thinking on a different tangent any of the Flashman books set in India.

Can't post now but have some Indian-set books at home - will post titles later. They might be a bit 'girly' though.

Have you tried looking on Amazon for ideas under genre?

I really loved 'A history of insects' - think it's by Yvonne Roberts. Beautiful.

The Night Runners of Bengal - fascinating. I have never managed to get into " A Fine Balance" and I've tried 3 times.

Can I recommend The Gift Of Rain. It's set in Malaysia during WWII and it's a great book.