The Fantastic Affair of Despair - Acquisition Announcement

Pan Macmillan India is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Fantastic Affair of Despair by Doorva Devarshi. To be published in 2025.

A profound and wonderfully inventive novel, Doorva Devarshi’s debut is a perfect blend of social and magical realism, carrying gentle echoes of Anita Desai and Salman Rushdie. In a newly independent India wrestling with its postcolonial identity, the unnamed, omniscient protagonist ‘she’ bears witness to the changes sweeping through her homeland.

We are offered a microcosm of this larger picture through the protagonist’s own journey of self-discovery – from a stifling work environment in new India, rife with male chauvinism, to the serene yet treacherous Himalayan expanse. As ‘she’ encounters a pregnant child bride, a mysterious man-eating leopard and her own monstrous past, the novel adroitly weaves together themes of gender, national identity and human encroachment on nature in a world bent on endangering all that is precious about us and our surroundings.

Commenting on the acquisition, Doorva Devarshi says, ‘From the moment The Fantastic Affair of Despair found its way to the Pan Macmillan India desk, it has been nothing short of encouraging. Both Teesta and Shreyoshee have not just provided guidance, but turned that small fear around a debut novel into excitement for its future. This novel is very close to my heart, rooted as it is in events and memories that are sadly the reality for a heartbreaking majority. But it is also brimming with characters that are resilient and unwavering in their desire for survival. It has truly been a fantastic affair!’

Teesta Guha Sarkar (Editorial Director, Pan Macmillan India) says, ‘The Fantastic Affair of Despair arrived in my inbox as an unsolicited manuscript some months ago and proceeded to cast a spell on me that will not wear off anytime soon. Its almost hypnotic narrative, crafted with a rare imagination, and its debut author’s masterful handling of ambitious themes assured me of an opportunity to champion a genuinely exciting new voice in literary fiction. I am delighted that Picador India will be launching Doorva Devarshi’s writing career.’  

Shreyoshee Bandyopadhyay (Assistant Editor, Pan Macmillan India) says, ‘My very first encounter with The Fantastic Affair of Despair left me feeling all the emotions that accompany reading a new favourite book. Doorva Devarshi’s novel exemplifies the simple brilliance that marks truly extraordinary literary fiction. I am honoured that our team has the opportunity to send her debut out into the world with the loving care it deserves.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Doorva Devarshi is a writer, editor, and proud mother to her mischievous cat, Chimken. Doorva graduated from Manipal University with a degree in dental surgery, and it wasn’t until 2022 that she decided to write stories and help others tell their own. One of her original stories is soon to be adapted into a television series. The Fantastic Affair of Despair is her first novel.

For further information, press inquiries and interviews, please contact Saburi Pandit , Marketing Manager, at saburi.sumran@macmillan.co.in.