10 Best Selling Novels in India [You Should Read in 2024]

India has been known for its art, culture, literature, and writing since ancient times. In India, there are over twenty spoken languages, and literature possesses more than twenty of these languages. In India, English Literature has grown a long way, from a few counted English books a year to millions of new releases every day. In 2020 the Indian book market will be valued at Rs. 739 billion approx. We have listed 10 best selling novels in India that you should read.

10 Best Selling Novels in India

1. Fasting, Feasting by Anita Desai

Fasting, and Feasting, was nominated for the Booker Prize award in 1999. This novel exposes the conventional patriarchal family system of India. The novel’s story runs around the life of Uma, a gray-haired spinster who feels detained and suffocated by her parents. The book aims to show how daughters of Indian families are burdened with roles & responsibilities. Ultimately, they are pressured to surrender their dreams and aspirations in this process.

2. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth is the longest Indian novel ever published. It was published in 1993. This novel won the Commonwealth Writers Award in the next year of its launch.

The novel is all about a mother searching for the right match for her daughter’s marriage. It engages with the events and anxieties that shaped the country-building processes immediately after independence and the partition. Moreover, it shows other issues like Hindu-Muslim rivalry, elimination of the Zamindari System, and empowerment of Muslim women. This novel is an interesting epic about romance, love, families, and politics.

3. Shadow Lines by Amitav Gosh

Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh is a stimulating story about the borders that mark and limit our imaginations. It catches the perspective of time and events and brings and keeps people apart simultaneously.

First, it starts heading in the memories of one and then becomes the imagination of another. Hence, this book primarily unwinds the imagination of the reader himself. The Shadow Lines consistently references significant historical events such as the Swadeshi Movement; The Second World War, The partition of India, etc. in 1989 Sahitya Akademi Award has honored this book.

4. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

It is a debut novel by the famous writer Arundhati Roy. This modern classic novel is among the best celebrated Indian Novels nationally and internationally. The story of this book revolves around two twins, Estha and Rahel, living in Kerala.

The novel depicts two twins’ lives and how it turns with the arrival of their cousin Sophie. It tells an emotional tale of love, kinship ties, and betrayal. In addition, the novel expresses the political inclination about caste, class, and discrimination.

5. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie revolves around India’s transition from British Colonization to freedom and partition. The story revolves around Saleem Sinai, who was born at the stroke of midnight when India got independence. When he grows, how he feels is related to most of the things going on with his native country. It is one of the best selling novels in India as it describes thousands of children born at the initial hours, especially on that particular day he was born, and how they are gifted uniquely.

6. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Namesake beautifully unfolds the immigrant experience, different cultures, lifestyles, the conflict in adjusting to the diverse customs, and the huge generational gap.

In this novel, Lahiri has presented very well through the life of a Bengali family who shifts from Calcutta to America and how coping with the western becomes challenging for this Indian family.

The writer also describes how parents impose their thoughts and believe in their kids through this book. The Namesake is fine-tuned, intimate, and a deeply felt novel.

7. Train to Pakistan by Khushwant Singh

The Train to Pakistan is a historical novel by Khushwant Singh; it describes the events that characterized the partition of India in 1947. The book’s story revolves around the people of a village that geographically lies on the border of India and Pakistan.

Singh appeals to the readers to include a more humanitarian worldview through his outstanding character development and storytelling skills. This is a haunting narrative about war, conflict, and violence and strives to develop a social understanding of such communal situations without taking sides or showing any kind of sensational political commentary.

8. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai

The Inheritance of Loss’s main themes is migration, living between the past and present, and two different worlds. This is a great novel, honored with multiple awards. It depicts the lifestyle of the Indian culture and Western cultures’ lifestyle that demonstrates how people forget their roots easily when they move to a different country and earn money.

The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai is among the best selling novels in India that makes you realize the importance of culture and heritage, no matter where you are.

9. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi is an adventurous novel by Martel, which describes how an Indian boy survives a shipwreck after 227 days, and his only companion is a Bengal tiger in a boat in the Pacific Ocean. The body could survive because of his belief, meditation, and faith.

The story depicts how life changes for Pi after his family drowns with the ship they carried to go to Canada, and only he and some other animals could stay alive after the disaster. The writer has demonstrated the power of God and imagines that he is with you every time.

10. The Immortals by Amit Chaudhary

The Immortals is penned by the famous and great writer Amit Chaudhary. The storyline of this novel is set in the Bombay of the 1970s and 80s; and concentrates on two families whose ends are connected by music. Amit Chaudhary is a talented musician himself and brings much realism to it.

The main protagonist Shyam Lal, the son of a singer, teaches music to support his family. His student Mallika Sengupta’s musical ambition is dimmed by luxury. Her son, Nirmala, is fascinated by philosophy and incredulous of Shyamji’s material pursuits. This novel is all about

music in the modern world. It is a must-read for the musically inclined and one of the best selling novels in India.

Conclusion

In this post, we have seen 10 best selling novels in India that you must read. These novels will take you back to the time they were written. We hope you find it interesting

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