About the Book

Bombay in the 1970s—a city of dreams, a city that seduces, a city caught in political turmoil. Sam, the bohemian dog, struggles to escape the suffocating grip of his family’s puritanical values. While the country breathes heavily under the Emergency, Sam discovers a hidden talent for writing, pouring his frustrations—cultural, sexual, and personal—into words. But his self-destructive path, fuelled by drugs, alcohol, and fleeting college fests, only deepens his inner conflict. Destiny brings him to meet Isabella Gondola, a fiery Naxalite revolutionary with a fierce will to bring a change. In her, Sam sees someone who dares to dream of a world without oppression. Together, they fight to keep their love alive in a city and society that threatens to tear them apart. But soon they get caught in the vicious loop of politics. Tortured and interrogated mercilessly, they face the brutality of a regime determined to break their spirits. Amid the chaos of love, revolution, and family, Sam must find the courage to defy everything and express his love for Isabella. Will Sam break free from his family’s control? Will their love survive? Bombay is a raw, powerful tale of teenage rebellion, love, and the painful journey toward self-liberation in a world on the brink of change.

About the Author

Soumitro Das has been educated in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta and Paris. He holds a doctorate in the History and Semiology of Texts and Documents from the University of Paris. He has been a journalist with The Telegraph and The Statesman and has also written for The Hindustan Times and The Times of India. His short stories have appeared in The Telegraph and The Statesman magazine issues, in Penguin’s anthology of new writing in English in India, and in a Vitasta anthology called No Return Address. Bombay is his first published novel. He lives in Kolkata.