Qayenaat is a middle-aged editor and critic who hovers at the edge of the Bangalore art scene. Her old friend and former protégé, Baban Reddy, has become a hugely successful artist on the international stage and his return to Bangalore brings back memories and experiences Qayenaat had carefully repressed. In a swirl of heightened emotion, Qayenaat commits an unforgivable crime and flees to rural India in the hope of avoiding its repercussions. There she forms a relationship with the unlikeliest of men – the local monarch whose palace, like the region, has fallen into disrepair.

Asking questions about art, love, class and the responsibilities of the bourgeoisie, The Cosmopolitans is a rich and engaging novel, by turns tender and satirical. Hasan has a fine voice and an impeccable sense of irony that, coupled with perfect comic timing, makes this an entertaining and highly sophisticated novel.

'[Anjum Hasan] has some keen insights to share on the mercenary nature of the art world, the intersection of culture and capitalism, the artist as conman, how we judge art and the meaning it gives our lives, and India’s own battle to keep its rich, ancient classical artistic traditions alive while engaging with Western artistic trends.' –The Australian

 Read the full review here.