History's Angel

A darkly funny, sharply observed, and deeply moving novel about the surprises and struggles of life in contemporary Delhi 'Confirms Anjum Hasan as one of the most important writers of our time' WILLIAM DALRYMPLEAlif is a middle-aged history teacher living in contemporary Delhi. Though his life's passion is the history he teaches, it's the present that presses down on him: his wife is set on a bigger house and a better car while trying to ace her MBA exams; his teenage son wants to quit school to get rich; his supercilious colleagues are suspicious of a Muslim teaching India's history; and his old friend Ganesh has just reconnected with a childhood sweetheart with whom Alif was always rather enamored himself.And then the unthinkable happens. While Alif is leading a school field trip, a Hindu student goads him about being Muslim, and in a fit of anger, Alif twists his ear. Suddenly out of a job, Alif finds his life rapidly descending into chaos. Meanwhile, his home city, too, darkens under the spreading shadow of violence.