10 Masterpieces you can’t Afford to Miss as Summer Reads in 2024

The scorching heat in the summer always gives us an opportunity to stay in the comfort of our home. Having a sip of soft drink along with our favorite book is just not less than a bliss in this dry weather. Flipping the pages of your favorite masterpiece while resting on your armchair is always a euphoria. Considering this fact, The Literary Mirror suggests you these ten masterpieces which you can’t afford to miss as Summer Reads. These ten masterpieces comprise of novels, short stories collection, poetry, and translated works of different languages.

1. I Had Also Loved Someone by Nitish Raj

A crime thriller wrapped in the romance of Niharika Ahuja sets you in her quest of revenge. What happens when your amant becomes your perpetrator? What happens when for whom you have dedicated your heart and soul is not even worthy of your deepest hatred? What would be the thought-process of Niharika Ahuja, when she has lost the meaning of life but the life of her loved ones? Even if she had taken an oath to destroy her perpetrator and his allies would it be even easy after so many years? Would her being a female would become an obstruction in the quest of her revenge? Get into a roller-coaster ride of romance, revenge, hatred, and obsession of Niharika Ahuja.

2. The Buther’s Pets by Souvick

The Butcher’s Pets is a  collection of twelve stories, this masterpiece was released in 2020 amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. Each story adds a unique shade to the canvas of feelings. The stories have been handpicked by the author from his collection. He believes that every life is a story and every person is a book whereas the world is a beautiful library. The stories in this book occur in different places in India- from the crowded streets of Old Delhi to the serene beach of Kolkata’s Prinsep Ghat to the villages of Bihar. The last story, which is also the title of the book, is a short tale that ends with a question for the readers.

3. Coolie by Mulk Raj Anand

Coolie is a novel by Mulk Raj Anand first published in 1936. The second book written by Mulk Raj Anand; Coolie reinforced his position as one of India’s leading English authors. The book is highly critical of British rule in India and India’s caste system. The plot revolves around a 14-year-old boy, Munoo, and his plight due to poverty and exploitation aided by the social and political structures in place. Anand here tries to break the traditional way of life. In 2004, a commemorative edition including this book was launched by the then Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

4. Deval Devgiri by Ashok

Deval Devgiri by Ashok is a story of a girl trapped in the war-torn crosshairs of the Middle Ages where war, loot and kidnapping of women were not any kind of crime but the process and results of war. Hindu kingdom of Anhilwara Gujrat was attacked by the armies of Allauddin Khilji. King Karna has to flee to Devgiri along with their young daughter Deval, but his queen Kamala fell into the hands of invading army and was brought to Delhi where she was forced to marry Allauddin and made his chief queen along with other begums. The book is centered around the life of princess Deval and takes a sneak peek into the history of Middle Ages. Later after 10 years princess Deval was won and bought from Devgiri as a result of another war. Princes Deval was raised in the Turkish palaces along prince Khizr Khan, prince designate as King and eventually she was married to him. The book reflects on different phases of life along with heinous plots for throne. The book also focuses on the state of Devgiri whose king Ramachandra was forced to confide with Allauddin against    the other South Indian states of Warangal, Madurai, and other states. The book acts as a handbook of the study of the mindset of people of Middle Ages through the portrayal of its various characters.

5. Siddharth – The Soul Seeker by Anandajit Goswami

Siddharth (The Soul Seeker) is an extraordinary journey of the self through the ups and downs of life leading to a spiritual realization of identity. The book is a powerful expression of a psycho-analytical aspect of the existential truth of life explored through religion, identity, culture, violence, love, anguish, survival, and aspiration defining the contours of human relationships. In a nutshell, the book is a celebration of the rise and fall of an ordinary human being above the society by defining new social norms of existence through a range of daily survival battles of a common, ordinary, and extraordinary human being.

6. Sangharshwat by Braj Naveen

Sangharshwat by Braj Naveen is not just a book of tale of those poignant aspects of the society which even today carries a lot of illusions. A society where there is a scarcity of faith amongst the endless tunnel of dark and the society still lingers the faith of a positive light. A society which is bound in the unseen chains of casteism and religion where their mind has been systematically forced to grasp the colonial mindset. The protagonist who is already is from a poverty ridden society even after having a plethora of problems tries to challenge this colonial mindset. The protagonist is joined by a beautiful young lady, tall and white and her mind was sharp as her features. She was carefree, white tall and with a tendency to diffuse the complexity of situations. Set in the backdrop of hills in the chilling winter, these two youngsters were adamant on exposing the rampant corruption in the hydroelectric power plant. They were really fad up if the fact that funds allotted to the hydroelectric power plant which should have been used for the welfare of the common people have been used for their personal gains by few of them and the labour class are living as marginalized people. This duo tried to unmask this mess and the result was those in power whose interests were harmed tried to many evil things.

7. Iran – Paarsiyon ka Teerthkshetra by Dr. Avinash Biniwale & Translated by Jyoti Jha

‘Iran- Paarsiyon Ka Teerthkshetra’ represents the travel experience of Hindi Sahitya Akademi winner Dr Avinash Biniwale, to the ethnically diverse, mountainous, and arid country of southwestern Asia, formerly known as Persia. The book has been originally written in Marathi as ‘Iran- Paarashyaanche TeerthKshetra’ and translated by acclaimed author Jyoti Jha in Hindi. Literary translations profoundly shape our cultural perspective, allowing the regeneration and revitalization of literature and creating opportunities for readers to discover various cultures, perspectives, and traditions. The Hindi version of the book has positively reached a wider market and audience depicting an immersive experience of the country with its rich and distinctive culture. The book was launched at the World Book Fair New Delhi 2024 at the prestigious ‘Lekhak Manch’, by the publisher ‘Pustaknama’.

8. Chaubatiya by Dr. Shivchandra Jha ‘Angiras’ & Translated by Jyoti Jha

‘Chaubatiya’ is a short story collection in Angika language, the Indo-Aryan language from Ang Pradesh, Bihar. Written by renowned author Dr. Shivchandra Jha ‘Angiras’, the book presents the heart-touching stories from the folklores, highlighting the cultural essence of the region. Portrayed through the canvas of wonderous imagination and multi-coloured experiences and observations from the walks of life, the book is significant from both richness and suffusion of traditional and new stories. In this age of consumerism, where the generations are getting lost in the dazzle of city lights, these stories bring the ethos of authentic village life. From the simple household occurrences, these heartwarming 23 stories sketch the social milieu and economic conditions of people in village. Translated in Hindi by HR-turned-Author Jyoti Jha, the book is a literary tribute to her father. The book is under publication at Pustaknama and will soon hit the market.

9. City Without Water by Manikya Sanghi

City Without Water is an acclaimed, Editor’s Choice and highly awarded story for kids and students by Manikya Sanghi. Along with helping overcome self-doubt, it also helps to inspire your kids and students in enhancing several life skills. The activities inside this fully coloured comic book can help readers to understand feeling, emotions, and thoughts of self and others. This educational, inspirational, and entertaining story has been loved by kids, their parents, and teachers around the world. Set in the fantasy world of dragons, the book explores the mystery genre as well. The masterpiece focuses on the varied themes of friendship, war, self-doubt, and harmony.

10. Waves of Fortune: Emotions by Dr. Sujata Chatterjee

Waves of Fortune: Emotions is an anthology of poems that arise from the depths of the soul like the waves of the sea. They are the author’s emotions on various topics that fill readers’ hearts with anticipation of good fortune. They stir the readers’ souls in such a way that the author’s feelings seep into their very beings. The readers are rejuvenated after reading the book, sitting by the sea, and hearing white noise. These are the author’s various emotions, which rise like the waves of the sea and break into sparkling, bright foam as the words of the poems. The various poems in the book are the feelings of the author depicted in form of words, which are like the Waves of the ocean. The author has written about women, who are the priciest possession of God who created her. The poet has also written about Mothers, whom God made, as He could not be everywhere. She has authored a poem Dewdrops, which has been compared to a Diamond, sharpened, and chiselled to shape it as it forms. All the poems have been greatly appreciated by her mentors like Mr. Mahesh Golani, who is the past Vice President of The Kolkata International Book Fair, Mrs Bhina Pillai, who is an author and a poet and Mr. Vaidya, a fellow poet. Waves of Fortune shows that a poet can express her deep emotions through the valley of words. She can bring g monsoons with words which fall like drops of rain. She can make spring burst with inflorescence, and she can quietly sit beside a sea and listen to the gurgle of the salty water in the waves.