The most stunning books of 2017

Here's the ultimate book list of 2017! You've read some of these, while some you've heard from your friends. There have been some glorious debuts this year, and some that bagged the most important book awards of 2017. But books are books. For bibliophiles, it really does not matter if a book has been in the limelight or has been overshadowed by popular choices. A book lover will listen to the soul of a book and will read it, store it, and shelf it, irrespective of the attention it gets. From thrillers to sci-fi, romances to literary fiction, 2017 saw a host of magnificent books published that entertained readers all around the world. We laughed, we cried, we gushed and we shared array of emotions through the books we read this year. Here's a tribute to the most stunning books of 2017. Let's hope we have not missed any of these!

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Sandhya Menon's "When Dimple Met Rishi" is a refreshing Young Adult romance, providing the reader with much-needed delight during a stressful day. A tale of two first generation Indian-American teens with an arranged marriage looming large over their head, this story is a laugh riot and utterly heart-warming. Eighteen-year-old Dimple Shah wants to attend Stanford but her mother relentlessly tries to mould her into a traditional Indian woman. It is then that she meets Rishi, with whom she is betrothed with, and falls in love with. "When Dimple Met Rishi" is an enjoyable read with a satisfying plot and ending. Sandhya Menon's debut is a romantic comedy you wouldn't feel guilty reading.

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A very personal and approachable book by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "What Happened" is a memoir of her presidential campaign in 2016. For the first time, Clinton connects with her readers on a more personal level and speaks about her reactions and feeling during this phase. Very confidently, she shares some of her intimate feelings post election loss and it further establishes the trust of her fans on her. She talks about sexism in a way that any woman can relate to very easily. It is an easy-to-read book balancing out political and personal spheres of her life in an eloquent way.
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The award winning author famous for his novels such as "The Fault In Our Stars" and "Looking For Alaska" has again exceeded his fans’ expectations with yet another brilliant novel “Turtles All The Way Down”. Dealing with resilience, love, bond and friendship, the book unveils the story of Azra and her anxiety disorder. Green’s empathy and compassion of psychological disorders is something prevalent in his works and it strengthens the beliefs and expectations of his fans for him, which makes him admired by a huge population worldwide. This book surely teaches the essence of bond of lifelong friendship and understanding.
Pic: Penguin Random House

Actress Diksha Basu's rip-roaring comedy of manners "The Windfall" is a surprising debut novel talking about Delhi's subcategories of the wealthy and the middle-class. The breezy book, from the start to end, is a delightful read that satirizes a metropolis' affluent folk, their lifestyle, and their aspirations. Basu's appealing storytelling skill finds an effortless expression in "The Windfall" and the tight and enjoyable plot further adds to its charm. "The Windfall" is a hilarious account of the all the insecurities and superficial demands of the rich, the top one percent of the one percent in India. Basu's novel speaks the truth and reveals the warning signs that come with affluence in a wildly witty and pleasurable manner.
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Naomi Alderman hailed her success with her novel based on a dystopian science fiction, "The Power". The novel tells a tale of women from different places across the world, who are at the onset of their sexual awakening, and have powers to electrocute anyone by a mere touch of a finger or with a flick of their bodies. The boisterous language used along with the plot is very convincing and full of impactful prowess one can have on their readers. Winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction this year, "The Power" attacks the male supremacy and patriarchal laws that violate women without their consent.
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A powerful book, " The Nothing" by Hanif Kureishi is an engaging and beautifully intricate novel portraying strong, dark humour with tense and intriguing themes of deception, lust, loneliness, convalescence, and hopelessness. Widely acclaimed due to its strong plot and brilliance of writing, many people can relate to this masterpiece and hence, it was received with much appreciation. The book is an interesting insight into a dirty egoistic man's mind, where we may not agree with his thoughts or even like him, but it's a fascinating read nonetheless.
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"The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness" is a the second novel of internationally acclaimed, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy. Roy has become one of the most beloved bestsellers after her award winning book “The God Of Small Things” and she is hogging the spotlight, after 20 years, due to her rich and excellent material. This humanistic novel tells a tale of war and peace and lives at stake. It shows how love unites the threads of lives of different beings together and how religious extremism destroys the very deep core of humanity, by showing the dark episodes of Godhra train burning and Kashmir Insurgency. This again targets the very main essence of modern Indian history for its unending hypocrisy.
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"The Idiot" by Elif Batuman tells the story of Selin, daughter of a Turkish immigrant and how her choices made an impact on her life. She befriended Svetlana in her college and, by fault, befriended Ivan through email. Structured as a Bildungsroman, the story evolves when Selin realises that she is meant to be a writer. This book is full of confusion of love, friendship and what not. Batuman explored many things with the plot, like setting up the book in 1995 when email was a fresh and new concept. Dealing with the complexities at Harvard with students come across from all over the globe and the diversities they bring with them leads to make this book even more admired.
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Faiqa Mansab’s promising debut "This House of Clay and Water" is a mesmerizing tale of three souls in search of love, freedom, and identity. Mansab's book brings to light a fresh brilliance from Pakistan, with a storytelling so sophisticated, it exudes radiance. The novel, set in Lahore, chronicles the city, its repressed femininity looking for a louder voice, and its aspirations in need of a jovial push. A must read, "This House of Clay and Water" easily places Mansab among the forerunners of Pakistani English literature.

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“The Hate You Give” is a debut book of Angie Thomas for which she received much-deserved appreciation. This book deals with racial discrimination and police brutality in America. The story unfolds with 16-year-old Starr, a black girl who sees her black friend Khalil get shot by the police. As an only witness, she soon realises the cruelty of this world she lives in and how the discrimination is still prevalent every day and she decides to take a stand. This book engages the readers till the end while leaving a prominent impact on them.
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A stunning contemporary fiction penned by Salman Rushdie, “The Golden House” focuses on corruption, terrorism, religion and human rights. Unraveling the infamous events like Mumbai blasts, corruption, slavery and social discrimination, Rushdie tried to identify with the pedestrian consorts and their battles. The mastery of Rushdie lies in bringing these two worlds, that of America and India, tantalizingly close, and to a bizarrely chaotic common ground.
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"Sour Heart" written by Jenny Zhang illustrates the complex and messy lives of the characters struggling to understand their familial relationships. Focusing on the immigrant community, the novel tries to unwind the historical aspect of families and relationships. This book is a collection of short stories intermingled with each other in a common thread.
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For the first time, father-son duo, Stephen King and Owen King, came up with “Sleeping Beauties”. This book with its themes of fantasy, horror, and thriller, binds the readers with extraordinary plot and structure. The story unveils with all the women induced to sleep due to a harmful virus called Aurora Flu. Now, the twist comes when their male counterparts cannot wake them and if they did, they will turn into a ferocious beast who will end up killing their loved ones. As usual Stephen King, the writer extraordinaire, along with his son, did not disappoint his fans with his latest novel.
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A crime thriller, written by Ashwin Sanghi and James Patterson, "Private Delhi" tells a tale of a horrifying case waiting to expose the culprit. It is led by Jack Morgan and Santosh Wagh. Santosh Wagh, who is still fighting his demons amid horrors of Mumbai terror, accepts the invitation of Jack Morgan to set an office in Delhi for an investigation agency. This book thrills the readers with its mesmerizing investigation which is deep and cool.
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"My Absolute Darling" by Gabriel Tallent is the story of Turtle Alveston who comes out as a survivor during her escape from her abusive father and the dangerous world. She meets Jacob and then she thinks about the real friendship and crush. The story is about her survival using the techniques she learnt from her father. A great book with remarkable and fierce language that makes it more admirable for the readers.
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Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan, this book was longlisted for the 2017 National Book Award in the Fiction category. Set in the 1930s, this historical thriller is about a young girl who becomes the first female diver at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where women are allowed to hold jobs that had always belonged to men, as she struggles to understand why her father disappeared. Mesmerizing and beautifully intricate book with some daunting atmosphere, this historical novel can woo anybody easily
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Ravi Subramanian in his recent book, "In the Name of God", has established a benchmark in the world of suspense thrillers. Knitting a fine web of fact and fiction with apt and creative imagination, he has brilliantly superimposed traditional knowledge and contemporary structure. The book starts with multiple scenarios being narrated simultaneously. It carries all the narrations in a comprehensive manner to finally merge and emerge as one. The book starts with multiple scenarios being narrated simultaneously. It carries all the narrations in a comprehensive manner to finally merge and emerge as one.
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Shamsie’s “Home Fire” is a reimagination of Sophocles’ “Antigone” in modern framework. The story is about Isma, who is now independent after taking care of her younger sibling, Aneeka and Parvaiz. But soon her fears comes true. Parvaiz kills his Jihadist father and found guilty. Aneeka blames Isma for betraying her as she did not defend their brother. Soon, Eamonn enters their lives. "Home Fire" provides a wonderful experience for its readers.
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Author Novoneel Chakraborty’s latest thriller is a dark and sensational story full of mystery, passion, and action.The first book in the series, "Forever is a Lie" follows the very lively Prisha Srivastava who recently turned eighteen. She gets attracted to a man double her age, Saveer, who carries mysterious air with him. The book ends with Prisha falling victim to a sinister act as a price she had to pay for love. The second book "Forever is True" opens six months after the fatal incident that almost killed Prisha. Noveneel's writing is engaging, his narrative tight, and his story absolutely nail-biting.
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Amish's much-awaited novel, the second in the Ram Chandra series, "Sita: Warrior of Mithila" was received with much appreciation and approval of readers. Amish wonderfully portrayed a female character from mythology, who transforms from a duty-bound wife into a fierce warrior without losing its credibility. To show Sita as a warrior is itself a very difficult task with many problems and obstacles due to Sita’s original character set up by Valmiki.
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Dan Brown’s thriller "Origin" was a novel much awaited and it did score the highest place in the list of most read books of 2017. "Origin" is an amalgamation of science fiction, thriller, fantasy and action. The facts Brown uses to depict the modern civilization thriving on religious chauvinism and scientific fanaticism will make you feel the intensity of the author's intelligent storytelling, wrapping your brain with outrageous thoughts just like him.
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Neil Gaiman’s fiction “Norse Mythology” does not disappoint its reader at all. The book is a Scandinavian folklore of the modern period, and assists to the very rich mythology by the opening of the book by the legendary Nine Worlds. It further delves into the mythical world of Thor, Odin and Loki, the trickster. Gaiman presents a very stunning version of this mythology in his fiction, which intact the interest of his readers till the end and the culmination of Ragnarok seems very interesting for readers in the end.
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Murakami's “Men Without Women” is a collection of short stories portraying the innate state of the loneliness every man suffers. The book is a collection of seven short stories. Stories travel from men to men suffering from the loss of women and the agony of unrequited love. Some of them are condoned to sexual abandonment and some of them living with the realization of that the love lost before it found. The wry humour and comedy make this book an endearing read.
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Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard are one of the remarkably acclaimed series written by Rick Riordan. “The Ship of the Dead” is a third part of the series released this year which is received much admiration and enthusiasm like the other two. The story unfolds with the Magnus Chase, the chosen warrior of Odin, who has to fight many dragons and monsters to save Asgard in order to capture Loki before he creates another trouble for them and tamper with the peace of Asgard. Just like the previous book, this time too Riordan is extolled by his readers.
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The second novel of Celeste Ng, "Little Fires Everywhere" is full of subplots with the democratic writing. The book is set up in a place named Shaker Heights which is a pleasant and progressive place where Mia Warren and her fifteen-year-old daughter Pearl come to stay. Mia is an artist with a mysterious past. She rents a duplex house from Richardsons and then, the story evolves when Elena Richardson's friend wants to adopt a Chinese baby but cannot do so because the baby’s mother comes back to get her. This ensues the division of Shaker Heights into two. With sharp language and enigmatic diction, Celeste Ng booked her place for the best selling author.
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Hawkins explores the genre of the domestic suspense, once again in her second novel, "Into The Water". Hawkins tried to make it even more promising by delving into the past of dead woman and a dead teenage girl. The story is narrated by different 11 people of a same community, who each tell thier episodes. This time instead of focusing on the mini character portrayals of people, Hawkins has focused on an entire community and their stories. Despite the structural flaws, this novel is a big hit due to readers love and admiration towards Paula Hawkins and her magnetic charm.
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A very strong, challenging and truthful novel, "Hunger" by Roxane Gay swayed readers by its enamouring theme and truthfulness. The author tells a tale of her struggle to thrive in a society which has set the standard rules for perfect body sizes and shapes. Gay narrates her own story of struggle she underwent due to her situation of fat woman captivated in the web of societal norms. Gay describes the novel based on "what it’s like to live in a world that tried to discipline unruly bodies”. This book leaves a long-lasting effect on its readers both mentally and psychologically.
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The story is set in an unnamed city struggling from the dreadful occurrences due to the onset of Civil War. The story is about Nadia and Saeed and their love, loyalty and courageous adventure to seek freedom from terror. They travel from door to door but ends up in becoming apart due to clashes of their views. Once separated, they again meet after 50 years. This book is a well-acclaimed book due to the humanitarian approach Hamid presents. It is one of the strongest books of 2017.
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The latest novel of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni plays an essential role in essaying the mother-daughter relationships and the hardships they undergo during their own time. This story is about loving and losing; about strengthening each other and discovering their greatest strength in each in a given time. Divakaruni has explored the complexities of the relationship between mother and daughters and how extraordinarily, this relationship bears all the restraints of societal norms. "Before We Visit The Goddess" is a captivating read.
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This stunning novel "Before We Were Yours", Lisa Wingate narrates a story of injustice and oppression, and how it affects the two families. It changes their lives forever in a very notorious way. Lisa Wingale tells her readers how our heart does not take us to the wrong path and how it never forgets where do we belong. Based on real scandals of America, this book is a big hit of this year.
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