Vikram Chandra is an Indian-American writer born in New Delhi in 1961. In India, there was not a great deal of opportunity to break out as a writer, so he decided to pursue his bachelor’s degree at Pomona College in California. Afterward, he enrolled in film school at Columbia University in the City of New York. However, Chandra dropped out half-way to focus his time on novel-writing. He went on to publish his first book entitled Red Earth and Pouring Rain in 1995.
Two years later in 1997, Chandra published Love and Longing in Bombay, a novel of five different yet interconnected people. It tells the story of five adults navigating their way through their careers, love lives, and family issues. This follow-up to Red Earth and Pouring Rain is one that avid readers absolutely cannot miss.
Upon its publication, Love and Longing in Bombay received enormous acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Publishers Weekly described the work as “impeccably controlled, intelligent, sensuous and sometimes grim; Chandra's timeless and timely book is remarkably life-affirming, considering the dark areas of the heart he explores.” This book ultimately won the Commonwealth Writers Prize, was listed as one of the Best Books of the Year by the Guardian, and was included as one of the Best Books of 1997 by Outlook magazine.
