Such a Long Journey is set in Bombay against the backdrop of war in the Indian subcontinent and the birth of Bangladesh, telling the story of the peculiar way in which the conflict impinges on the lives of Gustad Noble, an ordinary man, and his family.

Such a Long Journey is a brilliant first novel by one of the most remarkable writers to have emerged from the Indian literary tradition in many years. It was shortlisted for the 1991 Booker Prize, and won the 1992 Commonwealth Writers Prize.

Set in 1971, Such a Long Journey sees Gustard Noble, bank clerk, family man and devoted Parsi, struggling as his everyday life in Bombay starts to unravel: his daughter falls chronically ill, his son has a place at university but is refusing to accept it, and what seemed like an exciting offer from an old friend, Major Bilimoria, results in an inadvertent involvement in money laundering and terrorism. Before long, both his job and his family life are in jeopardy. Set against the backdrop of a city teeming with vibrant and diverse characters, the novel is also overshadowed by the looming Indo-Pakistan war. Setting the political upheaval of Indira Gandhi’s third term as Prime Minister alongside a Indian everyman’s heroic attempts to gain control over his life, Such a Long Journey combines the quotidian with the epic to splendid affect.