Priyanka Chakrabarty dives into examples of contemporary South Asian literature to explore the blurred line between trauma and ‘trauma porn’. Can fiction account for lived experiences and realities of trauma without making the plot performative?

In another difficult year of the pandemic, many of us leaned deeper into the contemplation of literature. From Rijula Das and Josy Joseph, to Amitava Kumar and Shrayana Bhattacharya, Saurabh Sharma presents his twenty favourite Indian books of the year.

In his Booker-shortlisted novel A Passage North, Anuk Arudpragasam masterfully uses stream of consciousness to meditate upon longing and desire, in a country where war and violence slowly recede against the humdrum of everyday life. By Priyanka Chakrabarty