When it comes to storytelling about wars and heroes – there are books and then there are lyrical odes. The Farthest Field – An Indian Story of the Second World War by Raghu Karnad is in the latter category. It’s an engrossing story of his family and of India during the Second World War that takes the readers on a journey from familiar places such as Madras, Calicut and Kolkata to the far and alien lands of North Africa and the Middle East. The imagery in the book is lyrical and poetic, and the recounting of the military action across the Western and Eastern Front is palpitating and at once transports you to the scene. In fact, such is Karnad’s command over the timeline and the actions, that it is difficult to believe in some places that you are reading a true story. What the book also manages to do is bring together the politics of the war, especially in the Eastern Theatre where the Indian Army’s contribution to the Allied Victory has often been glossed over. The exploits were none less than the ones achieved at Dunkirk and at Normandy and Karnad’s book is a fine tribute to the men and the battles that have for too long been relegated to a forgotten history.

The Farthest Field – An Indian Story of the Second World War by Raghu Karnad

4th – An imprint of Harper Collins, 300 pages (hardcover), INR 550.00