{"product_id":"truth-untruth","title":"Truth\/Untruth","description":"\u003cb\u003eA trenchant, darkly humorous, and unsentimental look at Calcutta society.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Set in Calcutta in the mid-1980s, \u003ci\u003eTruth\/Untruth\u003c\/i\u003e is a fast-paced thriller built around the death of the pregnant Jamuna--a maid in a newly affluent residential apartment complex--and Arjun, the upwardly mobile businessman who seduced her. Packed with a cast of colorful characters, this novel is a trenchant, darkly humorous, and unsentimental look at the different segments of Calcutta society: from the middle-class culture vultures to the unscrupulous \"promoter\" class and the domestic helpers and slum goons who form an intrinsic part of the city's life. All are implicated in a complex web of guilt and bizarre twists and turns. Sex, lies, death--the great modernist themes--run like a thread through this book, exposing societal greed, lust, corruption, and moral hypocrisy with a sardonic tone that spares none. An unusual novel by an author who is otherwise known for her hard-hitting activist-feminist stories, \u003ci\u003eTruth\/Untruth\u003c\/i\u003e underlines the exploitative vicious cycle that defines urban relations between the haves and have-nots.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMahasweta Devi\u003c\/b\u003e (1926-2016) was one of India's foremost literary figures and social activists. \u003cb\u003eAnjum Katyal\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, editor, translator, and critic. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eHabib Tanvir\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBadal Sircar\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Seagull Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50388635549970,"sku":"9781803090771","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_20e78b1b-a2b2-4956-a06a-ba52e411f716.jpg?v=1728904247","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/truth-untruth","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}