New Delhi, April 20 -- Keshava Guha's new novel, The Tiger's Share, is a refreshing departure from his debut, Accidental Magic (2019), which was centred around the intense but somewhat rarefied world of Harry Potter fandom. In contrast, the intensity of his second book comes from its gritty, social realist setting, among the upper crust of south Delhi, nurtured by illgotten generational wealth, patriarchal biases, and caste superiority.

made lawyer with a thriving practice in Delhi, The Tiger's Share tells the story of her family's gradual disintegration, or rather, "disequilibrium", as she puts it. Tara's father Brahm Saxena, a retired chartered accountant who has made his wealth from scratch, is the instigator of the disharmony. A year...