Book Launch
The Endgame

Thu, 27.02.2020
6:30 PM Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata

An evening with Kunal Basu in conversation with Sumit Dasgupta and Friso Maecker around his latest book. The evening will also include the launch of the book following the conversation.

The book:

Saddam Hussein is dead, but there’s no end to war in Iraq. Armed with a reputation for daredevilry, reporter Tejaswini Ray arrives from New York to cover the conflict and is immediately enmeshed in a skirmish with Commander Luke of the US Marine Corps. Bound by Luke’s strict censorship rules, Tejaswini – Tejo – revolts, her coverage of the death of American soldiers killed by landmines draws the world’s attention to a futile war and invites the Commander’s ire. Tejo’s uneasy mission is further troubled by her chance encounter with Shabnam – a young woman trafficked from India and sold into slavery at the Marine camp. Drawn together by an unlikely bond, the two find solace amidst the carnage, but their friendship reveals a secret that links them back to the very beginning of their lives.
When the war threatens their camp, Tejo and Shabnam abandon the Marines and embark on an audacious journey. But will they escape the dangers, or will their past invade the present, reversing the wheel of time to hasten the end?

The Author
Kunal Basu was born in Kolkata and educated in India and the United States. He is the author of several critically acclaimed novels, and ‘The Japanese Wife’ from his collection of stories by the same name has been made into an award winning film. He has also written novels in Bengali. He lives in Oxford and Kolkata.

The Speakers:
Sumit Dasgupta is a senior journalist, a communication specialist and a media entrepreneur based in Kolkata.

Friso Maecker is the present director of the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan Kolkata.

The programme is open to all.