Vivid and alive, this powerful novella about one woman's belated rebellion against the powers that be is Anita Desai at her finest. Nanda Kaul retreats to a quiet house in the hills, determined to live out her days in solitude. But the arrival of her great-granddaughter disrupts the stillness she has carefully built, bringing with it memories she would rather leave behind. Fire on the Mountain is Anita Desai’s subtle, haunting novel of isolation and memory. BRIEF ENCOUNTERS: classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days