Books like The artist of disappearance by Anita Desai
The artist of disappearance is a collection of three interlinked novellas set in recent‑past India. Anita Desai examines art, memory, and the gap between hopes and reality through the lives of ordinary people. A junior civil servant imagines discovering a priceless museum; a woman stumbles upon translating an unknown writer; and a documentary crew uncovers a hidden artistic masterpiece amid ecological destruction. Desai’s restrained, perceptive style brings these subtle, human struggles to life, offering insight into Indian cultural forces that nurture or suffocate individuals.
First publish date: 2011
Genre: General Fiction/Short Stories
Authors: Anita Desai
★
★
★
★
★
3.5 (2 community ratings)
How are these books recommended?
The books recommended for The artist of disappearance by Anita Desai are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.
Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier
for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.
Books similar to The artist of disappearance (18 similar books)
The God of Small Things chronicles the upended childhood of fraternal twins in India, exploring love, caste, and the impact of small moments on fate.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A novel about Emma Woodhouse, a young woman's struggles with matchmaking, misplaced pride, and the dangers of meddling in others' lives in 18th-century England.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie's 1981 Booker Prize‑winning novel, intertwines India’s journey from colonial rule to independence with the personal saga of Saleem Sinai in a tale of historical myth and magical realism.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A Fine Balance is Rohinton Mistry's critically acclaimed second novel, set in India in the mid-1970s and focusing on four unlikely individuals who come together in a city apartment during a state of emergency.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
R. K. Narayan’s classic collection of short stories paints a vivid portrait of the imaginary Indian town of Malgudi, capturing everyday life and the quirky characters that populate it.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In the years leading to the Opium Wars, the slave ship Ibis carries a diverse crew of sailors, stowaways, convicts, and passengers—including a bankrupt raja, a widowed village woman, a mulatto American, and an evangelical opium trader—who bond as ship-brothers on a tumultuous voyage across the Indian Ocean.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Uma, the older daughter of an Indian household, struggles with poverty while caring for her parents; her younger brother Arun lives in America, all navigating demanding family obligations across cultures.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In Old Delhi, Anita Desai explores the fragile bonds of the Das family—sisters Bimla and Tara, brother Raja, and mentally challenged Baba—as they confront past grievances, forgiveness, and the struggle for familial harmony.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Arranged Marriage by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is a collection of short stories that explore the lives of young girls and women adapting to a new country in the United States, with a focus on their struggle for change and acceptance.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
At eleven, Neela faces a mystery when her beloved, apparently cursed, veena disappears—she must unravel the secret behind the missing instrument while learning about friendship and family.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
In contemporary Tel Aviv, the disappearance of all Palestinians throws Israel into crisis, seen through the eyes of Alaa, who speaks to his missing grandmother, and Ariel, a Jewish journalist caught between memory and national myth.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Set in India, Pearl S. Buck’s Mandala follows an Indian prince and princess whose seemingly uneventful lives unravel when their daughter resists an arranged marriage, the prince falls for a foreign woman, and the princess befriends a missionary priest.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines weaves a contemplative domestic narrative set against the backdrop of India and Britain, exploring political and social boundaries through the lives of boys and their families.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
A woman returns home after leaving an abusive husband, facing family issues and confronting her past.
Similar?
✓ Yes
0
✗ No
0
Some Other Similar Books
In Custody by Tony ParsonThe Guide by R.K. Narayan
Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!
Please login to submit books!