There are many truths one confides to a diary that one would not confess to oneself. Our narrator and MS are caught in a functional but unhappy marriage. Although both are practising doctors, the diagnosis of MS's cancer is delayed due to avoidable causes. When she realises that she will now have to give him constant care, his past neglect of her creates a conflict that she tries to work her way out of. The diary becomes a record of her own struggle for equilibrium and that of MS's to stay alive. What unfolds is an extraordinary, vibrant tale of vulnerability and grit, founded in the day-to-day reality of life in Delhi. There is the narrator, brutally honest, even if flawed at times, and the circle of relatives and friends, including an intriguing, worldly-wise former lover, but at the heart of it is her husband, MS, holding on to his normal routines even though a wreck himself. In the end, quiet and reclusive, he achieves a heroic stature in this unforgettable portrait of married life and survival that will resonate with a vast number of readers.

Diary notes