Filming: A Love Story

A series of stories set primarily in India and spanning the 20th century, this collection includes the tale of one-time prostitute, Durga, who is persuaded to give away her young son, Ashok, and that of Saleem, the son of a prostitute and star of the silver screen. As these stories—narrated by a writer who relates the details of other people's lives but is evasive about his own—combine, they create a novel that is simultaneously about the small, minute details of life and the larger, arcing themes of humanity. Weaving together major historical events—including the Partition of India, the assassination of Gandhi, the rise of photography and the Bombay film industry, and the development of barbed wire—with the everyday moments that make up the main fabric of our lives, Filming is both ambitious in its scope and impressive in its execution.