The Lives of Others

Calcutta 1967. Unnoticed by his family Supratik has become dangerously involved in extremist political activism. Compelled by an idealistic desire to change his life and the world around him all he leaves behind before disappearing is a note. At home his family slowly begins to unravel. Poisonous rivalries grow the once-thriving family business implodes and destructive secrets are unearthed. And all around them the sands are shifting as society fractures for this is a moment of turbulence of inevitable and unstoppable change.Praise‘Searing savage and deeply moving an unforgettably vivid picture of a time of turmoil.’ - Amitav Ghosh ‘Very ambitious and very successful … Neel Mukherjee terrifies and delights us simultaneously.’ - A.S. Byatt The Guardian ‘Haunting. … Mukherjee can recall Tolstoy in his ability to bring to life a diverse and expansive set of characters and to sharply evoke their interior worlds' -New York Times. About the Author Neel Mukherjee was born in Calcutta. His first novel A Life Apart (2010) won the Vodafone-Crossword Award in India the Writer's Guild of Great Britain Award for best fiction and was shortlisted for the inaugural DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. The Lives of Others has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014. He lives in London.