000			01624 a2200169 4500
005			20250309111624.0
020			_a9789365695656
082			_a823 JOS
100			_aJoshi, Ruchir
245			_aGreat Eastern Hotel
260			_bFourth Estate _aNew Delhi _c2025
300			_a909
520			_aThe world is at war. And at the Great Eastern, Calcutta’s most luxurious hotel, amidst the feasting, dancing and laughter, we witness the metropolis in the last moments before multiple disasters strike. The story begins in August 1941, on the day Rabindranath Tagore dies. The city has come to a standstill as thousands of people line the streets to pay their respects. Among them are: Nirupama, a student of history and a volunteer with the Communist Party of India; Imogen, a young Englishwoman whose father is an official with the Raj; Kedar, the scion of a wealthy family, who dreams of painting like Cezanne; and Gopal, a young but experienced pickpocket, who finds himself promoted into a dark, dangerous world. Their lives intertwine with those at the hotel: an American soldier who plays jazz at the nightclub; a genius French chef; an heiress fleeing from the nightmare in Europe; and a group of military officers running a secret intelligence operation. Singularly ambitious and attentive, Ruchir Joshi’s Great Eastern Hotel maps this simmering pause at a crucial juncture in history, and offers new contexts to the upheavals of our present, raising vital questions about political commitment, nationalism, love and art.
650			_aGeneral Fiction
650			_aFiction and Literature
942			_cBK _2ddc
999			_c49641 _d49641