About the book The book is a compact and authoritative study of the female characters in Deshpande's novels from psychoanalytical point of view using mainly Karen Horney's theory of neurosis and the theories of a few other Western feminist theorists and feminist psychoanalysts such as Carol Gilligan, Virginia Woolf, Nancy Chodorow, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar, Juliet Mitchell, Luce Irigaray, Helene Cixous and Julia Kristeva. These theories attempt to trace the causes of conflicts and neuroses in women, their coping strategies, their self-analyses and their journey towards reconciliation when they start articulating their individual urge and asserting their selves not only as daughters, wives and mothers but also as autonomous and self-actualized women. Thorough in content, stimulating in approach, here is an invaluable companion to Deshpande's texts.

It is said that literature is a reflection of society, the author as well as his/her literature is the product of it. It is also said that literature is the product of a given milieu and individual sensibility which constitute together a culture entity rooted in the changing traditional value system of people. The writer, as a human being, is a part and parcel of the society and so, naturally he gets influenced by the atmosphere around him. Therefore the literature coming out through him becomes the manifestation of the cultural, social, spiritual and political scenario in the society. Kamala Markandaya is one of the leading women novelists of India. She has projected the theme of cultural clashes in different dimensions. She has produced several novels to her credit. Her novels find forceful expression of cultural clashes such as conflict between Tradition and modernity, clash between the rural and urban, East-West conflict and conflict between the two different attitudes of life from two diverse races. Kamala Markandaya has brought to the centre her protagonists who are invariably women, and therefore conflicts raised by the novelist relate to women. All the characters in her novels experience troubles and turmoil's in life but they rise above their desperation triumphantly because of their aspiration. It is a fact that Markandaya commands a wide reputation as a creator of readable novels; she has received a wide-ranging recognition and applause both in India and abroad. She has been a subject of serious discussion. But it is very surprising to note that an Indian woman novelist who has got a prominent position in India writing in English has not been able ii to draw the attention of critics and researchers to the extent she deserves. The articles in books and journals by their very nature remain confined to studying her novels as individual works. Book-length studies of Markandaya's novels are only a few. The proposed book will focus its attention on the conflict of nature in the novels of Kamala Markandaya through the discussion of the central characters. It will do its level best to fill in the gap and will attempt to study Markandaya's novels. Shashi Deshpande is one of the prominent writers who in the past two and a half decades established herself as a serious writer. She is undoubtedly an outstanding Indian English novelist who has boldly voiced the issues and sufferings of women in her works. She has projected this aspect of Indian women with more sensitivity and understanding as she was born and brought up in this soil. This work is to analyze about the works of Shasi Deshpandae and sense her to be a Feminist or Humanist. The themes of sexuality and man-woman relationship initially introduced in her stories are discussed which became the subject of full length novels. But they are found not merely the raw material for her novels. Her versatile treatment of women's issues reveals her sensitive nature as a woman writer, and this quality affirms her works as an outstanding contribution to Indian literature in English proving her to be a humanist. Sanjana Antil

About the book: The book Indian English Novel: Styles and Motives is an anthology of twenty two well explored research articles. It presents diverse facets of motive and stylistic approach adopted by the eminent Indian English novelists from time to time. Authors have tried to bring into surface many new ideas related to Indian English novel. Works and authors taken into consideration are made worthy to be discussed in this anthology and the main focus of this anthology lies in throwing light upon the style and the motive of Indian English novel written by both native and diasporic writers. Works of almost all the Indian novelists from late Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore to recent Indian writer Chetan Bhagat are taken into focal point of discussion and the anthology has hardly missed any important master of fiction and his or her important work of art as regards Indian English novel. In addition to content, the introductory note of this anthology is very resourceful to understand the changing trend of style and motif of Indian English novel. The book will be helpful for both academic and research purposes. About the Editor: Dipak Giri- M.A. (Double), B.Ed. - is a Ph. D. Research Scholar in Raiganj University, Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur (W.B.). He is working as an Assistant Teacher in Katamari High School (H.S.), Cooch Behar, West Bengal. He is an Academic Counsellor in Netaji Subhas Open University, Cooch Behar College Study Centre, Cooch Behar, West Bengal. He was formerly Part-Time Lecturer in Cooch Behar College, Vivekananda College and Thakur Panchanan Mahila Mahavidyalaya, West Bengal and worked as a Guest Lecturer in Dewanhat College, West Bengal. He has the credit of qualifying U.G.C.-N.E.T. two times. He has attended seminars on national and state levels sponsored by U.G.C. Along with this book on Indian English novel, he has also edited a book on Indian English drama, entitled Indian English Drama: Themes and Techniques. He is a well-known academician and has published many scholarly research articles in books and journals of both national and international repute. His area of studies includes Post-Colonial Literature, Indian Writing in English, Dalit Literature, Feminism and Gender Studies.

Shashi Deshpande&Rsquo;S Novel Is About The Secret Lives Of Men And Women Who Love, Hate, Plot And Debate With An Intensity That Will Absorb Every Reader. It Is A Story That Begins, Conventionally Enough, With A Woman&Rsquo;S Discovery Of Her Father&Rsquo;S Diary. As Manjari Unlocks The Past Through Its Pages, Rescuing Old Memories And Recasting Events And Responses, The Present Makes Its Own Demands: A Rebellious Daughter, Devious Property Sharks And A Lover Who Threatens To Throw Her Life Out Of Gear Again. The Ensuing Struggle To Reconcile Nostalgia With Reality And The Fire Of The Body With The Desire For Companionship Races To An Unexpected Resolution, Twisting And Turning Through Complex Emotional Landscapes. In Moving On Shashi Deshpande Explodes The Stereotypes Of Familial Bonds With An Uncanny Insight Into The Nature Of Human Relationships And An Equally Unerring Eye For Detail.

Mohit K. Ray, b.1940, former Professor of English, Burdwan University; contributed articles.