Shyaola by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay [Hardcover]

The novel Shyaola by Shirshendu Mukhopadhyay is set against the backdrop of Jadavpur, a place teeming with lower-middle-class and refugee populations, from which inevitably emerge gangs of young “masters” (thugs). These young men are outcasts from the ‘feast of life’ and therefore turn vicious, crude, and unruly. The protagonist, Hironnmoy, was once a radical extremist but eventually becomes utterly indifferent, detached, and dispassionate.

Shyola portrays the intense, gripping story of how a once-political youth transforms into an outsider. This journey from radical activism to disengagement gives the novel its depth and marks it as a profound and significant piece of literature. Through Hironnmoy's transformation, Shyola delves into the socio-political undercurrents that shape and distort the lives of those left at the fringes of society.