Books from India — The Book Roads

Vikas Swarup

Twenty-five-year-old Devi has spent her life learning how to survive in a world that offers her few chances and even fewer protections. Growing up in the slums of Delhi, she has become a resourceful fighter, but her past has also earned her dangerous enemies. Now kidnapped and held at gunpoint, Devi faces a terrifying ordeal: her captor is auctioning her life online and demands that she confess to the crimes he believes she has committed. To stay alive, she must recount the extraordinary story of her seven lives, revealing secrets and unexpected truths as the night unfolds. Moving across India, from Delhi and Punjab to Kerala, Goa, and Mumbai, the novel combines suspense, dark humour, and social observation. Through Devi’s shifting identities and remarkable resilience, Swarup explores survival, inequality, and a woman’s struggle to reclaim control over her own destiny.

2026