The last year has been full of buzzy releases by literary fiction authors of Indian origin—Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny, Megha Majumdar’s A Guardian and a Thief, Avni Doshi’s The First House (coming soon), and Meena Kandasamy’s recently released Fieldwork as a Sex Object. Kandasamy’s novel is the one I’m currently reading, and it ticks all the boxes of an award-winning lit-fic pick in 2026. The author takes you into the deep, dark edges of the internet where deepfakes, fascists, and haters abound, adds in a progressive protagonist who suffers some (relatable) Indian familial taunts, and throws in a bit of dark humour.
However, it’s not the only Indian author you should be adding to your TBR right now, Roshan Sethi’s satirical novel The Simp is out this month too. This one’s set in Hollywood and features a gay, brown-skinned actor looking for work in the monotone world of LA’s acting industry (where Sethi himself is a director).
For more July recs check out the compulsively readable It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell (the book that’s currently everywhere) or the hilarious Country People by Daniel Mason and check out The Nod Book Club’s current pick, ofc.
