Tradition and modernity have by and large been at logerheads with each other. Most familiial and psychological issues seemingly arise from misconstrued notions of both, and lead to a lot of truoubles which could otherwise be avoided with ease. Arun Joshi makes a master stroke when it comes to expressing the turmoil and chaos that the world sees due to such a conflict. This book is a wonderful exposition of how Surinder and Som Bhaskar of The Foreigner and The Last Labyrinth strive to overcome the turmoil experienced by their conflict torn psyche and arrive at peace with themselves.

The Foreigner is a story of a young man who is detached, almost alienated — a man who sees himself as a stranger wherever he lives or goes — in Kenya, where he is born, in England and USA where he is a student and in India where he finally settles down. His detachment transcends barriers of geography, nationality and culture. It propels him from one crisis to another, sucking in the wake several other people, including June, an attractive American with whom he has a short lived but passionate affair. The transitoriness associated with the word 'foreigner' permeates the novel and is handled with remarkable maturity reminding the reader of epoch-making The Outsider by Albert Camus. The protagonist's anguish at the meaninglessness of the human condition and the eventual release from the anxieties of life through karmayoga, the principle of action without attachment, add to the aesthetics of the work.

Contributed articles.

The Contemporary Creative Literature In English Is Marked By An Irresistible Urge To Look At Its Past And The Surrounding Realities From A Changed Perspective. The Remnants Of Colonial Rule Include Many A Deepening Wound Which Upset The Sensitive Artist To Redefine The Relationship Between The Empire Arid The Centre. In Fact, The Post-Colonial Space Is The Ongoing Project Of Analysing And Combatting Unequal Power, Structures. This Volume, Comprising Sixteen Perceptive Essays, Addresses Itself To The Multiple Intricacies Of The Post-Colonial Resistance. This Volume Focuses On The Diverse Strategies Of Sixteen Major Indian Writers Who Have Appropriated The Post-Colonial Space To Manifest Their Strong Animus Against The Erstwhile Hegemonic Power And Its Assumptions. Divided In Three Sections General, Author-Based And Text-Based The Essays Provide Marvellous Critiques Of Some Contemporary Indian Classics Like A Suitable Boy, A Matter Of Time, And The Great Indian Novel. The Contributors Include Senior English Faculties With Proven Expertise In The Third World Literature. The Volume Opens Up Fresh Vistas Of Critical Enquiry And Interpretation In Respect Of Contemporary Indian Literature In English.

The Last Labyrinth is a splendid novel — serious, disturbing, lyrical and irresistibly readable, a fascinating exploration into the turbulent inner world of a successful urban India. Som Bhaskar is a millionaire-industrialist, married to a woman of his choice who has borne him two children, yet relentlessly driven by undefined hunger which he unsuccessfully seeks to satisfy by possession — of an object, a business enterprise, a woman. Much like Saul Bellow's Henderson he is always crying, 'I want, I want, I want.' His search taken him from Bombay to Benares, at once holy and repellent — with its narrow, dirty lanes, dancing girls and a mystical aura. Amidst this contrasting juxtaposition of locales, the novel explores the meaning of life and death, illusion and reality, desire and resignation. Here is an eternally contemporary theme with all its complexities; the story's spiritual and sensuous dimensions are interwoven with great finesse making this novel a rare, unforgettable treat. 'The Last Labyrinth is considered an outstanding contribution to Indian English literature for its restless search for a meaning in human existence, its treatment of the multiple levels of reality, challenging narrative technique and an evocative use of language.' — Sahitya Akademi Award Citation 'The story is beautifully written... holds the reader's undivided attention to the finis.' — Khushwant Singh

The Strange Case of Billy Biswas is a compellingly thought provoking novel. A novel in which the normal and the abnormal, the ordinary and the extraordinary, illusion and reality, resignation and desire rub shoulders. The protagonist, Billy Biswas, is a man of extraordinary passions. He has everything going for him — education, wealth, status, travel, and a loving wife. Yet his inner world is rocked by a groundswell of discontent. He is consumed by a restlessness which grows steadily... Characterised by great elan and sophistication, the narrative unfolds in quick succession, and would be hard to believe were it not related in such a matter of fact, down to earth manner. 'In Joshi's hands we are swept into the unknown...' — The Times Literary Supplement, London