The Atlas Of Impossible Longing: Anuradha Roy

Anuradha Roy is best known in book circles as a publisher at Permanent Black, a small Indian publishing imprint that was set up by Roy and her husband after their controversial departures from Oxford University Press India. Permanent Black publishes both academic and general trade titles, mostly of South Asian interest, by authors such as Amitav Ghosh, Amit Chaudhuri and Partha Chatterjee.

Roy’s debut novel is a love story and a family saga that starts when newly married Amulya leaves his privileged life in Calcutta to set up a household with his new wife, Kananbala, in the small village of Songarh. This is the story of the family’s attempts to adapt, to grow and to fulfil their dreams – and their ‘impossible longing’ – ever aware of Amulya’s restless discontent and Kananbala’s emotional disintegration. This is a novel that is remarkable for its evocation of place and its very human story: that of family, love and misplaced ambitions.