Book excerpt: A dark comedy of desire, this is the story of Bodhi Banerjee, a small-time real estate developer who is “always pondering the big moral question of all time. How to do good and be right and win at the same time?” Bodhi’s life unravels as he becomes the central figure in a struggle to preserve a heritage building. His descent is assisted by a large cast of characters- Neera, the woman of his dreams, enigmatic, idealistic, wealthy, and given to dropping hints that she may be in love with someone else. Chhotomama, his communist uncle who is moralistic, and obstinate, and the instigator of the fight over the historic house. Cookie, Bodhi’s business partner, who has several disturbing tendencies, including untimely honesty and general immoderation. And a family of fallen tycoons, including a deceased philandering patriarch. All these characters collide over two months of farce in sweltering Calcutta. Sanjoy Chakravorty has written several books of nonfiction on subjects like inequality, industrialisation, immigration, and land. His last book (The Price of Land) was shortlisted for the 2013 Crossword Award. The Promoter is his first work of fiction. It was written in Philadelphia and Calcutta, the gorgeously crumbling twins born a decade apart, where he spends most of his time. Talking Points -Reviewed and recommended by author Anees Salim, Winner of The Hindu Literary Prize 2013, -Raymond Crossword Book Award 2014 -After The Price of Land (2013), shortlisted for the 2013 Crossword Award for Non-Fiction, Fragments of Inequality (2007) and Made in India (2006); The Promoter is Sanjoy Chakravorty’s first work of fiction -Provides an intriguing insight into the world of conspiring promoters and real estate agents -Dramatic, thrilling and engaging; The Promoter is a tribute to Calcutta’s history of a lost era. Worldwide readership/market Students, professors, educational institutions, libraries, academicians, schools, journalists, lovers of literature, political science and history, general readers