
Truth/Untruth
Seagull Books London Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 6. May 2023
Book
Hardback
144 pages
978-1-80309-077-1 (ISBN)
Description
A trenchant, darkly humorous, and unsentimental look at Calcutta society.
Set in Calcutta in the mid-1980s, Truth/Untruth is a fast-paced thriller built around the death of the pregnant Jamuna-a maid in a newly affluent residential apartment complex-and Arjun, the upwardly mobile businessman who seduced her. Packed with a cast of colorful characters, this novel is a trenchant, darkly humorous, and unsentimental look at the different segments of Calcutta society: from the middle-class culture vultures to the unscrupulous "promoter" class and the domestic helpers and slum goons who form an intrinsic part of the city's life. All are implicated in a complex web of guilt and bizarre twists and turns. Sex, lies, death-the great modernist themes-run like a thread through this book, exposing societal greed, lust, corruption, and moral hypocrisy with a sardonic tone that spares none. An unusual novel by an author who is otherwise known for her hard-hitting activist-feminist stories, Truth/Untruth underlines the exploitative vicious cycle that defines urban relations between the haves and have-nots.
Set in Calcutta in the mid-1980s, Truth/Untruth is a fast-paced thriller built around the death of the pregnant Jamuna-a maid in a newly affluent residential apartment complex-and Arjun, the upwardly mobile businessman who seduced her. Packed with a cast of colorful characters, this novel is a trenchant, darkly humorous, and unsentimental look at the different segments of Calcutta society: from the middle-class culture vultures to the unscrupulous "promoter" class and the domestic helpers and slum goons who form an intrinsic part of the city's life. All are implicated in a complex web of guilt and bizarre twists and turns. Sex, lies, death-the great modernist themes-run like a thread through this book, exposing societal greed, lust, corruption, and moral hypocrisy with a sardonic tone that spares none. An unusual novel by an author who is otherwise known for her hard-hitting activist-feminist stories, Truth/Untruth underlines the exploitative vicious cycle that defines urban relations between the haves and have-nots.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Greenford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 243 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
400 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-80309-077-1 (9781803090771)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Mahasweta Devi (1926-2016) was one of India's foremost literary figures and social activists. Anjum Katyal is a writer, editor, translator, and critic. She is the author of Habib Tanvir and Badal Sircar.