The End of Karma: Hope and Fury Among India's Young

When the scale of your problem is too vast, you break it down into manageable chunks – or stories. This book is a manageable, feel-able, look into the tragic failures of a once-promising democracy. Seven stories, each centering around one or two individuals, each focusing on one aspect of the systemic failures. Sengupta hinges everything on the word “aspiration” and shows example after example of young people dreaming hard, working even harder, and invariably being shot down by a disastrous combination of corruption, poverty, ignorance, misogyny, and religious hatred. (Clarification: we're talking India here. Any similarities to other nations are purely intentional).

Compassionately written. Engaging. And so heartbreaking.