To be a writer, Amitava Kumar says, is to be an observer. The twenty-six essays in Lunch with a Bigot are Kumar's observations of the world put into words. A mix of memoir, reportage, and criticism, the essays include encounters with writers Salman Rushdie and Arundhati Roy, discussions on the craft of writing, and a portrait of the struggles of a Bollywood actor. The title essay is Kumar's account of his visit to a member of an ultra-right Hindu organization who put him on a hit-list. In these and other essays, Kumar tells a broader story of immigration, change, and a shift to a more globalized existence, all the while demonstrating how he practices being a writer in the world.
- Cover
- Contents
- Author’s Note
- Part I: Reading
- Chapter 1: Paper
- Chapter 2: My Hanif Kureishi Life
- Chapter 3: The Map of My Village
- Chapter 4: The Poetry of Gujarat Riots
- Chapter 5: Conversation with Arundhati Roy
- Chapter 6: Salman Rushdie and Me
- Chapter 7: Bad News
- Part II: Writing
- Chapter 8: How to Write a Novel
- Chapter 9: Reading Like a Writer
- Chapter 10: Writing My Own Satya
- Chapter 11: Dead Bastards
- Chapter 12: The Writer as a Father
- Chapter 13: Ten Rules of Writing
- Part III: Places
- Chapter 14: Mofussil Junction
- Chapter 15: A Collaborator in Kashmir
- Chapter 16: At the Jaipur Literature Festival
- Chapter 17: Hotel Leeward
- Chapter 18: The Mines of Jadugoda
- Chapter 19: Upon Arrival in the Past
- Chapter 20: Bookstores of New York
- Part IV: People
- Chapter 21: Lunch with a Bigot
- Chapter 22: The Boxer on the Flight
- Chapter 23: Amartya’s Birth
- Chapter 24: The Taxi Drivers of New York
- Chapter 25: On Being Brown in America
- Chapter 26: Missing Person
- Index
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
- Q
- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
- W
- Y
- Z
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