Award-winning writer Paul Theroux removes the mystery and reveals the real India in his compelling novel The Elephanta Suite.

We in the West think we know India. But as Paul Theroux reveals we need to think again. . .

The Elephanta Suite brilliantly explores the shifting stories of those who come to India in search of that elusive something - and of how they react when the country and people they encounter are altogether foreign to their expectations.

Through the eyes of a middle-aged couple a sharp-suited lawyer and a gap-year traveller we see illusions and preconceptions unravel and an extraordinary new India - modern complicated uncertain of its coming future - appears before us.

'Throughout the writing is rich and vivid. . . the book a pleasure to read' Literary Review

'Highly readable' Sunday Times

'Theroux has a sharp eye. . . re-working the old colonial themes in light of the country's rapid but uneven development. Theroux hasn't lost any of his insight or power to enthral' Sunday Telegraph

American travel writer Paul Theroux is known for the rich descriptions of people and places that is often streaked with his distinctive sense of irony; his novels and collected short stories My Other Life The Collected Stories My Secret History The Lower River The Stranger at the Palazzo d'Oro A Dead Hand Millroy the Magician Saint Jack The Consul's File The Family Arsenal The Mosquito Coast and his works of non-fiction including the iconic The Great Railway Bazaar are available from Penguin.