Unknown City - by Amitabha Bagchi (Hardcover)

About the Book

Arindam Chatterjee--whom we first met in Amitabha Bagchi's bestselling novel Above Average--is now a nearly fifty-year-old novelist and professor. He is committed to revisiting the relationships he had in his twenties during his years in America and after graduating from IIT--be it with history student Supriya, who wanted a companion to laugh w...

Book Synopsis

Arindam Chatterjee--whom we first met in Amitabha Bagchi's bestselling novel Above Average--is now a nearly fifty-year-old novelist and professor. He is committed to revisiting the relationships he had in his twenties during his years in America and after graduating from IIT--be it with history student Supriya, who wanted a companion to laugh with, not a partner demanding intellectual gratification; or with the activist Lisa, who sought an anchor, not a man unaware of her struggle with depression; or with the writer Razia, who wished to be desired, not summoned to mend a broken soul. As Arindam looks back, he realizes that the unknown city that's the human heart felt unknowable to him because he was wearing the blinkers of his masculinity. In Above Average, Arindam had said, 'It is a blessing to be understood, and an even greater blessing to be granted understanding.' Has Arindam finally been granted understanding?

Review Quotes

'[...] Unknown City is clearly Bagchi's most deeply felt book thus far. It is written with passion and with pain, with angst and with hope.'--Arshia Sattar, Open Magazine 'Unknown City presents an intimate study of the dynamics of social circles in India and abroad, shining in Arindam's close observations of student life, the nature of friendships, and in his lively and sympathetic character descriptions.' --Karan Madhok, Biblio.

'[Unknown City] not simply a story told in the first person--it feels like it's being narrated to you by the lead player during a late-night post-beer conversation in your drawing room.' --Debasmita Bhowmik, Scroll

'Bagchi [is] inarguably one of India's finest novelists.' --Tanuj Solanki, Frontline 'Unknown City [is] an achingly human story about a man seeking to gain a fuller understanding of his own humanity.' --Aditya Mani Jha, The Hindu