Grim realities of life penned in fiction (IANS Books This Weekend)

A woman discovers life is no romantic novel and a man exposes the unpleasant realities within gleaming new hospitals. Understand their complicated lives and and discover murky underworld of Delhi with the IANS bookshelf offerings this week. Take a look.

1. Book: The Country is Going to the Dogs; Author: Anurag Mathur; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 168; Price: Rs. 195

Sitting by the window, watching the girls of All Saints College walk past, Radhey Radhey (RR) has nothing much to look forward to in his boring, retiree's life until

Miss Fifoo, "the sizzling sex siren of sin city", goes missing.

With the help of his very resourceful friend Anwar, the ageing RR turns into an enthusiastic amateur detective and plunges headlong into Delhi's murky underworld. On this dangerously exciting mission, which takes him to gay bashes and wife-swapping parties, he encounters shady characters such as the poetic pimp, who is fond of quoting English poetry, and the malicious Don, who owns every bad ass in town, as well as the guru of the Hijras.

In this thriller, join the over-sexed retired accountant, RR, on a wild ride as he dives into the sexual underbelly of Delhi.

2. Book: The Americans; Author: Chitra Viraraghavan; Publisher: Fourth Estate; Pages: 288; Price: Rs. 499

A systems administrator uncovers a government plot to deport him. A nine-year-old boy tries to make sense of a less-than-special world. A woman discovers life is no

romantic novel. A teenager flees the nets of family. A housekeeper wakes up from the American dream. A college student brings a poem to life. A paperless songwriter is forced to become a hero. A doctor diagnoses her own terminal condition: motherhood.

An IT engineer's protocols fail to match those of his wife's. A retired teacher in a foreign land turns pioneer. A woman linked to them all discovers new worlds.

Meet the Americans.

3. Book: The Death of Mitali Dotto; Author: Anirban Bose; Publisher: Harper Collins; Pages: 314; Price: Rs. 350

When a stab victim is brought bleeding into a swanky New Delhi hospital, Dr. Neel Dev Roy resuscitates her from a near-death experience. An idealistic young surgeon who has just relocated from the US, Neel is shocked to learn that the hospital authorities will let the comatose woman die because there is no one to pay for her care. Impulsively, he steps in to cover her bills.

Already burdened but the ghost of his dead father's Maoist past and the future of his troubled marriage, Neel finds himself enmeshed in battles on the young woman's behalf. But he soldiers on, determined to do the right thing. His obsession with keeping her alive spills over into his personal life and raises troubling new questions. Who is she? Why was she stabbed? How did her medical records disappear? And who is the killer suddenly stalking his wife?

Set against the backdrop of India's ascent on the world stage. This novel exposes unpleasant realities within its gleaming new hospitals and raises discomforting

questions about the ethics of a brash new world.

4. Book: Scent of a Game; Author: Raghav Chandra; Publisher: Rupa; Pages: 388; Price: Rs. 395

All hell breaks loose when Burree Maada, the famous royal Bengal tigress of the Kanha Tiger Reserve is reported missing under mysterious circumstances.

Meanwhile, Ganga, a brilliant forest officer in charge of protecting tiger, is unceremoniously transferred and persecuted; Sherry, a vivacious investigative

journalist, is attacked repeatedly by the wildlife mafia, and a debonair maharaja and his royal guests plan to recreate old-time tiger shikar with deep, dark

vengeance in mind.

Set against the backdrop of wildlife conservation. This novel is a multidimensional chronicle of tiger-poaching, big-game hunting and the international mafia which is minting money at the cost of the endangered species. With its stark and unsettling storyline, this thriller will change your attitude towards not just wildlife, but life itself.