Gita Wolf is an author and founder of Tara Books, a collective of writers, designers and bookmakers, publishing illustrated books for children and adults. Established in 1994, Tara Books values experimentation with the design, content and form of the book — creating handmade screenprinted titles from its own bookmaking workshop based in Chennai. An integral part of its publishing is its pioneering engagement and ongoing dialogue with the rich and varied forms of indigenous art in India.
Which three books would you recommend?
Ways of Seeing John Berger
For anybody interested in art and culture - Berger's simple, elegant prose is transformative. It is a radical way of looking at art, feminism and the politics of the male gaze. For me, at the time I read it in the early 1980s, the notion that high European art was not a given, but was a matter of perspective and interpretation was startling. It has shaped my approach to art and the contexts that surround it profoundly. I also admire the author's clarity and simplicity of expression.
The Neopolitan Quartet Elena Ferrante
I enjoyed the four books in this series immensely, and it changed the way I looked at literature in translation. Originally in Italian, the masterful rendering in English opened up a whole new world - which was both unfamiliar, and yet curiously familiar in its focus on female friendship. We are most familiar with the Anglo-saxon literary world, but these novels, set in Naples, felt close to home.
My Family and Other AnimalsGerald Durrell
I read this as a child, and was transported to the Greek islands, enjoying the humour and charm of Durrell's engagement with animals. Growing up in an Indian city, longing for a pet of my own, it all seemed so wonderfully exotic. I lived through the adventure vicariously.
Whose reading list are you most curious about?
I generally look to friends whose judgement I trust, as well as reading reviews online.