Rohinton Mistry

Hannah Booth: My enjoyment of this brilliant, thronging novel was enriched by reading it in India, and it in turn deepened my appreciation of the country

Rick Gekoski: 'Mistry has a great eye and a huge heart, and if the world he describes is often cruel and capricious, his characters have a remarkable capacity to survive'

Nina Martyris: Mumbai University's banning of Rohinton Mistry's novel, Such a Long Journey, shames India but the public reaction gives hope

• Author decries 'threats and intimidation' by Shiv Sena
• Such a Long Journey insults leader Bal Thackeray – grandson

This stage version of Rohinton Mistry's novel provides a vivid primer on Indian history and politics over the past 30 years, writes Lyn Gardner.

I'm off on holiday to India on Wednesday morning – have passport, visa, travellers' cheques and spanking new rucksack, but with less than 48 hours to go, I'm still dithering about my reading list. I'd love to read something to do with the country while I'm there, but it's not an area of literature I know much about, so – and now we come to the point – what I'm really after are some personal recommendations. I've read quite a bit of the obvious stuff – Rushdie, Seth, VS Naipaul, Rohinton Mistry, Arundhati Roy – over the years; can anyone suggest where I should go from here? All recommendations gratefully received - I'm currently wallowing in a lather of indecision.

Jeffrey Eugenides and Rohinton Mistry have emerged as frontrunners in the 10-book shortlist for the Impac Dublin prize, which also features three works told in the style of diary entries.