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Baumgartner's Bombay by Anita Desai

Baumgartner's Bombay by Anita Desai

Rs. 199.00
Rs. 499.00 Rs. 199.00
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Book Summary

Baumgartner's Bombay by Anita Desai is a literary novel about Hugo Baumgartner, a German-Jewish refugee who escapes Nazi persecution and eventually settles in Bombay, India. His life is marked by displacement, loss, and isolation as he moves across Berlin, Venice, Calcutta, and finally Bombay, always struggling to find a place where he truly belongs. In Bombay, he lives a lonely, modest life, spending his days wandering the city and caring for stray cats, earning him the nickname “the Madman of the Cats.” 

The story also explores his past through flashbacks, revealing his privileged childhood in Germany, the trauma of World War II, and the collapse of his family during the rise of Hitler. His experiences in India further deepen his sense of alienation, as he is neither fully accepted as German nor fully embraced as Indian. Ultimately, the novel is a powerful exploration of exile, identity, memory, and the emotional cost of war, showing Hugo as a tragic figure searching for belonging in a fractured world. 

About the Author

Anita Desai is an acclaimed Indian author known for her deeply psychological and emotionally rich fiction. Born in 1937 in Mussoorie, India, she has written numerous novels and short stories that often focus on themes of identity, alienation, and the inner lives of her characters.

She has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times and is widely regarded as one of India’s most important contemporary English-language writers. Her notable works include Clear Light of Day, In Custody, Fasting, Feasting, and Baumgartner’s Bombay. Her writing is known for its lyrical style, careful attention to psychological detail, and exploration of cultural and emotional displacement. 

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