The Wreck

The English translation of Rabindranath Tagore's novel, Naukadubi (1906), The Wreck (1921) is the story of the conflict caused by mistaken identity, resulting in an exchange of wives. Delightfully told and interspersed with extraordinarily lovely descriptions of nature, this novel probes the rift between the reformist, progressive Brahmo Samaj and the traditional conservatism of Hinduism. It is one of Tagore's most widely translated novels and was praised by the noted critic, Krishna Kripalani as having an 'ingeniously constructed story, unburdened with philosophy. . .

One of India's most cherished figures, Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1914) was a novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist, painter, educationist and thinker, the first non-European to be awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. He modernised Bengali literature, moving it away from its rigid classical form and strict linguistic structure. Known for works such as Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced) and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World,) his novels, short stories and verse are considered part of the greatest of world literature, famous for their exploration of the political and the personal. He also wrote the national anthem of India, Jana Gana Mana and of Bangladesh, Amar Shonar Bangla.