Get started on narrative non-fic

Raghu Karnad, author of Farthest Field: An Indian Story Of The Second World War

The Seasons Of Trouble by Rohini Mohan
“A huge accomplishment in non-fiction, narrating in sustained, vivid detail the stories of two Tamils entangled in the Sri Lankan civil war. Mohan is to that war what Katherine Boo is to slum-life in Mumbai. And the journey is awesome, in the original sense of the word.”

HhhH by Jean Binet
“A ceaselessly clever and exciting book about Heydrich, the Nazi governor of occupied Czechoslovakia, told alongside the self-conscious narrative of the author, Binet, as he struggles to write the book.” 

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Hesitant to take on non-fiction? We asked bright young voices from the genre to share their favourite narrative non-fiction works to help get you started.   

Rohini Mohan, author of The Seasons Of Trouble

Death In Mumbai by Meenal Baghel
“A racy narrative of a lover's tiff, a high-profile murder and the underbelly of Mumbai.”

The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
“A brilliant, witty book of essays exploring how we feel other people's pain. Jamison is so good her essay on a phantom skin condition made me feel itchy!”
 
A Free Man by Aman Sethi 
“A journalist beautifully traces the past and present of a manual labourer in Delhi.”

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Samanth Subramanian, author of This Divided Island: Stories From The Sri Lankan War

King Of The World by David Remnick
“Because it's an ideal blend of the small and the large: the focus on one man and his philosophies and foibles, and the simultaneous analysis of important trends in the civil rights movement in America.”

Stasiland by Anna Funder
“For its incredible, loving attention to human detail, and its ability to portray the texture of life under the Stasi's watch in East Berlin.”

H Is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald
“For the meditative power of non-fiction, and for Macdonald's ability to ruthlessly examine and describe both her interior and exterior worlds.”

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Sonia Faleiro, author of 13 Men

Factory Girls by Leslie Chang
“It captures urban migration in modern China through the tightly knit stories of two young women.”

Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev
“A dizzying look at moneyed Russia under Putin's rule.”

The Wizard And The Volcano by Marc Herman
“An e-single that investigates Indonesia's use of real life wizards to anticipate volcanic eruptions.” 

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