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Smell by Radhika Jha

Smell by Radhika Jha

Rs. 150.00
Rs. 299.00 Rs. 150.00
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Book Summary –

Smell (1999) is a haunting coming-of-age novel centered on Leela Patel, a young Gujarati-Kenyan woman whose life is upended when her father dies in a Nairobi riot. Sent alone to Paris, she grapples with isolation, cultural dislocation, and the sting of abandonment. In this alien landscape, Leela discovers she has an extraordinary, hyper-sensitive sense of smell—a gift that initially helps her thrive in culinary and social spheres but soon becomes a source of torment. The shifting tapestry of Parisian life—its food, its people, even its sewers—is recounted through her olfactory lens. As Leela drifts through exploitative relationships and identity crises, she becomes increasingly haunted by a “dark, feral smell” that symbolizes her shame and inner turmoil. Jha’s lyrical writing immerses readers in this sensory world, but Leela’s inability to fully reclaim her identity leaves a bittersweet, introspective tone at the novel’s close .

About the Author –

Radhika Jha (b. 1970 in New Delhi) is an acclaimed Indian novelist, Odissi dancer, and former journalist. She studied anthropology at Amherst College, completed a master’s in political science at the University of Chicago, and spent time as an exchange student in Paris p. After working for the Hindustan Times, Businessworld, and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Jha published her debut novel, Smell, in 1999—winning France’s Prix Guerlain in 2002. She’s since authored The Elephant and the Maruti (2003), Lanterns on Their Horns (2009), My Beautiful Shadow (2014), and more. Having lived in Tokyo, Beijing, and presently alternating between Athens and New York, Jha brings a richly international perspective to her writing.

Together, Smell and its author offer a unique, sensory-driven narrative that probes identity, diaspora, and the discomfort of being untethered in foreign worlds.

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