An Outline of the Republic - by Siddhartha Deb (Paperback)

From the Back Cover

Intrigued by a disturbing photograph of a woman, a young journalist in Calcutta embarks on a quest to learn the story behind the violent incident captured on film -- a strange odyssey that leads him to a volatile remote corner of India mired in civil strife and sustained by timber, drugs, and guns. Yet the truth he hopes to uncover is as uncertain as the mysterious woman he seeks, smoldering dangerously on the border between illusion and reality.

Review Quotes

"One of the most distinctive writers to have emerged from South Asia in the last two decades." - Pankaj Mishra, author of The Romantics
"An immersion into the heart of India.... Deb is a fluid, thoughtful novelist." - Village Voice
"A compelling account of an unstable region's hopes and frailties by way of an individual's tortuous soul search." - Time Out New York
"A sophisticated adventure novel. . . . Deb [is] an author with great craft and potential." - Kirkus Reviews
"Ambitious.... Deb's intelligent writing and cool, observational tone . . . vividly capture . . . daily life in much of India." - Publishers Weekly