The Blue Book

‘In those terrible days of the lockdown during the pandemic, we were all waiting. We were waiting for things to be all right. And one day, they will indeed be all right. But the dead will never come back. The businesses that have closed and will not reopen; the dreams dashed; the families and relationships that could not withstand the strain. This is why it is important to note down all the changes in our lives. Write them down in a journal. When we do that, we are recording our own history.’

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Drawing as a way of keeping a diary, writing down thoughts in a journal as a way of maintaining a historical record – in watercolours and also in words.

These were resources that Amitava Kumar had been using even before the pandemic arrived. But the task gained urgency just when he felt most isolated and afraid. The Blue Book is a writer’s artistic response to our present world: one that has bestowed upon us countless deaths from a virus, a flood of fake news, but also love in the face of loss, travels through diverse landscapes, and – if we care to notice – visions of blazing beauty.

From one of the acclaimed and accomplished authors of our time, this writer’s journal is a panoramic portrait of the experience, both individual and collective, of the pandemic.

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‘To mull over a beautiful line while looking upon a beautiful painting is the sublime pleasure offered by Amitava Kumar’s The Blue Book. This painted diary is a collage of the personal and the political, of terrifying news, the fleeting seasons, everyday pleasures, precious conversations, families and friendships-and on every page, the solace of art.’ — KIRAN DESAI

‘A lovely homage to–and extension of–the tradition of writer-artists such as John Berger.’ — GEOFF DYER

‘It’s not good to read another person’s diary. But Amitava Kumar makes the experience so intimate in The Blue Book that you don’t feel guilty. You feel like it is your own.’ — GULZAR