Dehradun, June 21 -- Book Review

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Our Friends in Good Houses

Rahul Pandita

VBA Longlist: English Fiction 2026

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Let me begin with a question. Is the binary between fiction and non-fiction real, or is it an artificial construct? Can Our Friends in Good Houses by Rahul Pandita be read without reference to his earlier nonfiction books - Our Moon Has Blood Clots (2013) and Hello Bastar (2011) - both of which have given Pandita a solid reputation as a ground reporter who brings perspective to raw facts? Life, as they say, is stranger than fiction. Themes of war and peace, love and longing, yearning and solace are eternal dualities for a muse.

Nearly two centuries ago, in 1883, Lord Alfred Tennyson wrote a poem which is affirmed...