The Lives of Others (novel)


The Lives of Others is a novel by Neel Mukherjee. It was published in 2014 by Chatto & Windus in the UK and W. W. Norton & Company in the US. The novel, the author's second one, was shortlisted for the 2014 Man Booker Prize on 9 September 2014.

Plot summary

The novel is set in Calcutta in the 1960s and follows a wealthy business family, one of whose members gets involved in extremist political activism. The book deals with the chasm between generations, and is set against a backdrop in which the gulf between the poor and the wealthy has never been wider.
The Statesman described the book to have a neo-orientalist agenda.
Independent noted the author's taste for violent contrasts and narratives within narratives.

Awards and honours