Books and Authors - Quick Revision
Books and Authors - Quick Revision
Key Points (One-Liners)
- “Discovery of India” – Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
- “Wings of Fire” – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam
- “My Experiments with Truth” – Mahatma Gandhi
- “The God of Small Things” – Arundhati Roy (Booker Prize 1997)
- “The White Tiger” – Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize 2008)
- “Train to Pakistan” – Khushwant Singh (Partition classic)
- “A Suitable Boy” – Vikram Seth (longest Indian novel in English)
- “The Argumentative Indian” – Amartya Sen
- “India 2020” – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam & Y.S. Rajan
- “Untouchable” – Mulk Raj Anand (1935)
- “Gitanjali” – Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel 1913)
- “The Guide” – R.K. Narayan (Sahitya Akademi 1960)
- “Midnight’s Children” – Salman Rushdie (Booker + Booker of Bookers)
- “The Inheritance of Loss” – Kiran Desai (Booker 2006)
- “Playing It My Way” – Sachin Tendulkar (autobiography)
- “An Era of Darkness” – Shashi Tharoor (British colonial impact)
| Formula/Rule |
Application |
| Booker Prize + Indian author → always check year (1997, 2006, 2008) |
3 frequently asked years |
| “My … Truth” = Gandhi; “My … Way” = Sachin |
Avoid swap |
| “Fire” in title → Kalam (Wings) or Tharoor (An Era of Darkness) |
Distinguish by first name |
| Tagore = Nobel; Sen = Nobel (Economics) |
Don’t mix field |
| “Train to …” only one book (Pakistan) |
No “Train to India” etc. |
| Female Booker winners: Arundhati Roy, Kiran Desai |
Remember “RAK” (Roy-Arundhati, Kiran) |
| Books on partition: Khushwant, Manto, Singh |
Common theme question |
| Kalam books = 4 words max (Wings, India, Ignited, Turning) |
Count words to guess |
| Nehru wrote 3 big books: Discovery, Glimpses, Letters |
“DGL” mnemonic |
| Titles starting with “The” dominate Indo-English fiction |
Quick visual filter |
Memory Tricks
- “GRAND GK” – Gandhi-Roy-Anand-Nehru-Discovery-Gitanjali-Kalam
- “RAK” – Roy, Adiga, Kiran Desai (Indian Booker trio)
- “K-2” – Two Kalam best-sellers start with “I” (India 2020, Ignited Minds)
- “Two Nehru N’s” – Nehru = Non-fiction, Narrative style
- “3S” – Seth, Singh, Sen (all Delhi-born authors)
Common Mistakes
| Mistake |
Correct Approach |
| Calling “Wings of Fire” an autobiography of a “scientist-president” |
Always prefix “Missile Man” tag |
| Mixing “A Suitable Boy” author with Vikram Chandra |
Remember “Seth” = 1-word surname |
| Thinking “The Guide” won Booker |
It won Sahitya Akademi, not Booker |
| Writing “My Experiments with Truth” author as Nehru |
Gandhi wrote it; Nehru wrote “Discovery” |
| Stating Arundhati Roy won Nobel |
She won Booker; Tagore won Nobel |
Last Minute Tips
- Glance at Nobel vs Booker list—1 minute save 4 marks
- Note first-name initials: A-Kalam, A-Roy, A-Adiga (all A’s)
- If options have “Train to India” → instant wrong, strike out
- Attempt author-title match first—it’s factual & quickest
- Use word-count: Kalam titles ≤ 3 words, Seth titles ≥ 3 words
Quick Practice (5 MCQs)
1. Who wrote “The Inheritance of Loss”?
> Kiran Desai
2. Match: “My Experiments with Truth” – author?
> Mahatma Gandhi
3. Which book is written by Shashi Tharoor?
> An Era of Darkness
4. “The God of Small Things” won the Booker Prize in which year?
> 1997
5. Who is the author of “Train to Pakistan”?
> Khushwant Singh
BETA
