'The most memorable literary event of my experience . . . Govardhan is that common man who seeks justice from history, from time and society and is punished. Govardhan is everyman. He is a survivor and his story is everyman's story.' — Mahasveta Devi Halfway through his famous play on injustice, Andher Nagari Choupat Raja, Bharatendu Harishchandra stops: What is the duty of a writer—to depict reality as it exists or to project what it should actually be? Unable to decide, Bharatendu abandons the play and releases Govardhan, the main character who is unjustly condemned to death, from drama to real life. The noose still hangs over Govardhan's head as he walks out of prison as a representative of all those who are victims of the ruthlessness and absurdity of justice. He questions everyone he encounters and raises a storm which gains momentum as he journeys through space and time. The lines between fact and fiction blur as a host of people from mythology, history and...

Murder is committed for its own sake in the three fictional episodes of The Book of Destruction. In 'The Gardener', the narrator learns from the thug Seshadri that he has been selected for assassination for no reason but the pure purpose of killing. A discotheque is bombed out of existence in 'The Hotelier and the Traveller'. In the third episode, leading the narrator to an elaborately staged orgy and sacrifice, stitched clothes escape from a tailor's shop and soar down the streets to take over bodies. The cruelty of killers and the wretchedness of victims are shifted to the margins as the novel focuses on the act of murder. In his inimitable style, Anand takes the mesmerized reader on a journey of three stages—the practice of killing, the sacrifice of the victim and the sacrifice of the sacrificer—before bringing the story of destruction to its finale.