Author: Desai Anita
Place: New Delhi
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2007
Pages: 273
ISBN: 818400014-6
Subject: Bombay/ Mumbai
Sub-Subject: Bombay
Keyword: Classic Novel, Jewish Heritage, Baumgartner’s Bombay
Classification: 307.76
Shelf: C3R5
Accession No: B661
Contents: Introduction Chap 1 to Chap 7 A note on the author
Abstract: *Baumgartner’s Bombay* by Anita Desai follows the life of Hugo Baumgartner, a German Jewish exile in 1970s Bombay, whose past spans prewar Berlin, Venice, colonial Calcutta, and an internment camp in the Himalayas. Inspired by real letters from a concentration camp, the novel explores themes of displacement, identity, and memory. Through Baumgartner’s quiet, tragic life, Desai reflects on the violence and upheaval of the twentieth century. A diverse cast of characters and shifting settings illustrate the chaos of exile and belonging. Ultimately, Baumgartner becomes a symbolic figure—a martyr for a fractured world, embodying universal suffering and quiet resilience.