Upamanyu Chatterjee ist ein indischer Autor, der für seine Werke bekannt ist, die im Umfeld des Indian Administrative Service angesiedelt sind. Sein Schreiben befasst sich oft mit den ironischen und satirischen Aspekten von Bürokratie und dem täglichen Leben in Indien. Chatterjee's Stil zeichnet sich durch scharfen Einblick in die menschliche Psychologie und seine Fähigkeit aus, die Nuancen sozialer Interaktionen einzufangen.
Agastya Sen, known to friends by the English name August, is a child of the Indian elite. August himself has just landed a prize government job, which takes him to Madna - a town with the highest temperatures in India - deep in the sticks. There he finds himself surrounded by incompetents and cranks, time wasters, bureaucrats, and crazies.
Jamun is a young man, adrift. His father, Shymanand, is old and his mother, Ursula, on her deathbed. As the novel opens, the family are gathering together for the inevitable parting. Tracking backwards and forwards in time and space, the book unfolds a picture of Jamun and his family.