About the Book A LIVELY AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING COLLECTION OF WRITINGS ABOUT LIFE AND LITERATURE For more than forty years, Shashi Deshpande has-as a novelist, short story writer, essayist, memoirist and public figure (in short, as a concerned and engaged citizen)-audibly contributed to the lively public debates on the role of the writer and writing in India and to an understanding of India's contemporary social, literary and political issues. She has not been reluctant to insert critical and dissenting notes into the public discourse of her nation. The essays in this volume constantly remind us that Deshpande is first and foremost a reader and a listener actively and compassionately engaged in dialogue with others. Subversions invites its readers to enter that fascinating dialogue. About the Author Shashi Deshpande is the author of eleven novels, two crime novellas, a number of short-story collections, a book of essays, and four children's book. Three of her novels have received awards, most notably the Sahitya Akademi award for The Long Silence. She has translated works from Kannada and Marathi into English and her own work has been translated into various Indian and European languages. She has participated in literary conferences and festivals, as well as lectured in universities, both in India and abroad. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2009. Her memoir, Listen to Me, was published by Context in 2019.