Esquire Picks: What the Editors at Esquire India Are Reading In November

In a newsroom like ours—fuelled by coffee, chaos, and the occasional existential debate over punctuation—books serve as tiny anchors. They remind us of the slow burn of curiosity in a world built on scrolls and swipes. So, we thought we’d do what Esquire does best: pull back the curtain.

Every month, our editors bring to the table a different obsession—one chasing the colour red through centuries of empires, another lost in Dan Brown’s labyrinthine Prague, and yet another deep in the geopolitics of maps. Together, they make up a kind of literary time capsule—part personal, part political, entirely Esquire.

Here’s what we are reading this month.

Mayukh Majumdar, Deputy Editor

A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Colour of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield

“Desired by royalty, coveted by The Vatican, and canonised by courtesans, A Perfect Red traces the thrilling saga of a colour so deliciously vivid it reshaped the world and defined an entire generation of spies, alchemists, pirates and lovers.” – Mayukh Majumdar

Synopsis: A book about colour that reads like a spy thriller. Amy Butler Greenfield’s A Perfect Red traces how cochineal—the once-mystical red dye that coloured empires—became one of history’s first global commodities. The story moves from Aztec markets to Spanish ships, unfolding like a pre-modern game of industrial espionage. It’s a lush, erudite narrative about greed, art, and desire—all painted in the shade that once defined power itself.

Sonal Nerurkar, Managing Editor

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

“Will Sunny and Sonia make a go of it? That’s the question on my mind as I wade through Kiran Desai’s long-awaited opus. As a fan of Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, I was excited to pick this up, but it’s been slow going. It’s been two decades between novels for her; here’s hoping I finish it faster!” – Sonal Nerurkar

Synopsis: Desai’s return, after nearly two decades, is the kind of literary event that justifies every “most-anticipated” list. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is a quiet, sprawling meditation on love and exile—how immigrants carry loneliness across borders like an invisible heirloom. Set between India and the U.S. in the late ’90s, it weaves an understated romance into the larger fabric of displacement and memory. It’s patient, melancholy, and demanding, like all great fiction that refuses to explain itself.

Saurav Bhanot, Digital Editor

In The Cut by Susanna Moore

“A host of gruesome murders in her area have put an English professor on guard, before she lets them down after meeting the detective investigating the crimes. If it sounds like your regular pulpy crime drama, then you’re judging a book by its cover. In The Cut is anything but obvious, especially because it’s not a whodunit per se, and certainly not interested in having you play the guessing game. It’s about the professor’s unabashed desire for the detective and the twisted carnal liaison between the two. The sex is both decadent and disturbing (depending on where you stand on the prude parameter), and the plot is ‘simple’ but the writing adds requisite nuance and layers, ensuring you can’t stop reading.” – Saurav Bhanot

Synopsis: Moore’s 1995 novel is less a crime story than a fever dream of obsession. It dismantles the conventions of the thriller, replacing suspense with a hypnotic unease. You’re never sure if the danger lies outside or within. What makes In The Cut remarkable is how it writes female desire—messy, confrontational, and entirely unsanitised. Two decades later, it still reads like a provocation.

Abhya Adlakha, Digital Writer

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

“Dan Brown is a classic. I grew up being lost in the world of Robert Langdon running through Europe. I’m only halfway through it and I can barely keep the book down. He’s on a dangerous quest in Prague, people are trying to kill him, this time he’s looking for someone he loves. It’s all so very exciting, I feel 16 again.” – Abhya Adlakha

Synopsis: Brown’s sixth Langdon novel is exactly what you think it is—and that’s part of the charm. The Secret of Secrets opens with a murder, a missing manuscript, and a chase through Prague that somehow ends up questioning the nature of consciousness itself. It’s peak Brown: half theology, half thriller, and entirely impossible to put down. Say what you will about the formula—few writers have turned conspiracy into an art form quite like him.

Nitin Sreedhar, Features Editor

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall

“Russia-Ukraine, the Israel-Gaza war, the growing power of China and the US. Geography plays a key role in world leaders and their decisions. This bestseller from Marshall is now updated with the changing geopolitical landscape since 2015. Essential for anyone who wants to understand what's happening to the world around us.” – Nitin Sreedhar

Synopsis: Russia and Ukraine. Israel and Gaza. China and the U.S. If the nightly news feels like déjà vu, Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography explains why. His argument is simple but profound: geography doesn’t just shape borders, it shapes destiny. From mountain ranges to access to warm-water ports, the book makes a compelling case for why every world leader is, in some way, at the mercy of a map. Updated for the post-2015 geopolitical order, it’s essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of the chaos without succumbing to it.