Books are a secret escape from our mundane life. Some great authors have penned masterpieces on magic, love, death, war, romance, murder and whatnot. Reading these is an enriching experience and a journey in itself. Exploring vastly different worlds and lives and relating with characters and struggles that flow from the writer’s mind to your own is a fulfilling exercise.

These books most definitely should be at the top of your reading list:-

The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank.

No reading list can be complete without the mention of Anne Frank’s diary. The classic book that was published in 1947 is a raw account of the horrors of the Holocaust in the Netherlands from the point of view of a 13-year-old Jewish girl. Her diary entries talk about isolation from the outside world, facing issues of hunger, boredom, and living in fear of being discovered by the Nazis.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm may appear to be a fantasy novel, but it is actually a witty political satire, with strong allusions to flaws in ideologies, politicians’ tactics, and more. Published in 1945, it tells the story of farm animals who rebelled against the human farmer who neglected them. They want to create a democratic society where all animals are equal. It is not as simple, though, with an emerging power hierarchy and some succumbing to greed. The book covers all the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This historical fiction is about African Americans who work in white households in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. The author has created three extraordinary women- a white writer, and two coloured ‘house helps’. All have unique issues and voices of their own. They are also determined to do something that will change the fate of all the other women to come. The novel is filled with gut-wrenching pain, humour, hope, and most of all, a sense of unity that gives these three women the strength to overcome the challenges they face.

The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

This novel, published in 2021, is based on the true-life events of Jindan, who chose to rise from a royal kennel keeper’s daughter to a powerful monarch. She was the last reigning queen of India’s Sikh Empire. Jindan was elevated to royalty after she married Maharaja Ranjit Singh, followed by her son inheriting the throne. She transformed herself from a loved wife to a warrior determined to shield her people from the British.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy’s second novel brings the stories of violence- land reforms that affected the farmers, the Bhopal disaster and the Kashmir insurgency. Every character is aimed to represent the fabric of Indian society. An intersex woman, a rebellious architect, and her landlord who works in the intelligence service feature as the leads.

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