The Remains of the Body is an intricate story of friendship and intimacy between three Indian immigrants in North America from a writer known for his exploration of the unpredictable nature of human sexuality.
Two men in their mid-thirties, childhood friends, share a deep bond that is put to an unexpected test as one’s marriage starts to crumble under the conflicting arcs of immigrant ambition. As the marriage loses its last breath in an unexpected affair, the other friend, a single man, has to confront questions about his own desire that he cannot answer. Whose body does he long to touch? Can a man’s intimacy with a woman mask his inexpressible desire for someone who lies beyond his reach?
Interviews
What the Body Desires: A Conversation with Novelist Saikat Majumdar-|The Wire, June 22, 2024|
Reviews
Alchemy of Desire: A reading by Jyotsna Singh, Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University| Biblio, A Review of Books, April-June 2025|
Saikat Majumdar marries exquisite prose with the intriguing subject of desire that transcends the person of the beloved |Hindustan Times, March 22, 2025|
The Body Fantasises Touch And Glory |Outlook Magazine, September 1, 2024|
Beyond Binaries |The New Indian Express, July 21, 2024|
The novel offers a compelling landscape of the secret and uncanny world of intimacy |Outlook, July 13, 2024|
Sexuality’s ambiguous terrain through immigrant scholars’ lives |Frontline, July 10, 2024|
What the fluidity of love, friendship, and liminality of desire can do | The Scroll, July 6, 2024|
A wound in our experience |The Daily Star, July 4, 2024|
How to secretly woo your bestie |The Asian Age, June 29, 2024|
Disruptive desire and the Indian male | The Hindu, June 28, 2024|
The unpredictable nature of human intimacy | The Statesman, June 24, 2024|
To Love Is to Hurt |Open Magazine, June 24, 2024|
Saikat Majumdar’s new novel is like water, indomitable and quiet but also stormy. |The Telegraph, June 9, 2024|
Videos/Podcasts
Saikat Majumdar talks about friendship and intimacy between three Indian immigrants in North America and the unpredictable nature of human sexuality. In an insightful conversation with Aabir Lahiry |ABP Live Podcasts, June 9, 2024|
Instagram Live
Saikat Majumdar in conversation with Anukrti Upadhyay on the Art of Fiction. Iteeha Coffee, Mumbai-August 11, 2024
Seems interesting! Adding to tbr. Would love to return with feedback.
Hope you enjoy the book.