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The Little Book of Goodbyes
About the Book
AN EVOCATIVE COLLECTION OF STORIES THAT WEAVES TOGETHER WARM MEMORIES OF FRIENDS, PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, AND CITIES CLOSE AND FAR.
An unusual and evocative gaze back over the shoulder, The Little Book of Goodbyes captures the innocent intimacy that binds children, parents and grandparents, friends and lovers, and unlikely landmarks in faraway cities. Rooted in the memory of a childhood spent in Kerala, it travels through Malabar and Delhi to Dresden and New York, encountering gods, ghosts and old friends with equal aplomb, landing finally in the cool valleys of Mussoorie. Along the way, it weaves stories that illuminate the best things of friendship, loyalty, affection, laughter, while being mindful every moment of the inevitability of departure.
At once joyful, tender and melancholy, this is an immersive work that blurs the boundaries of fiction and autobiography.
About the Author
Ravi Shankar Etteth is a writer, editor, graphic designer and political cartoonist. In a career spanning forty years, he has worked with and headed editorial at some of the biggest media groups in the country, among them The New Indian Express, The Sunday Standard, India Today, Media Transasia, The Observer Group, while launching six news channels and a lifestyle channel on television. He is a best-selling author with several critically acclaimed books to his name.
AN EVOCATIVE COLLECTION OF STORIES THAT WEAVES TOGETHER WARM MEMORIES OF FRIENDS, PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, AND CITIES CLOSE AND FAR.
An unusual and evocative gaze back over the shoulder, The Little Book of Goodbyes captures the innocent intimacy that binds children, parents and grandparents, friends and lovers, and unlikely landmarks in faraway cities. Rooted in the memory of a childhood spent in Kerala, it travels through Malabar and Delhi to Dresden and New York, encountering gods, ghosts and old friends with equal aplomb, landing finally in the cool valleys of Mussoorie. Along the way, it weaves stories that illuminate the best things of friendship, loyalty, affection, laughter, while being mindful every moment of the inevitability of departure.
At once joyful, tender and melancholy, this is an immersive work that blurs the boundaries of fiction and autobiography.
About the Author
Ravi Shankar Etteth is a writer, editor, graphic designer and political cartoonist. In a career spanning forty years, he has worked with and headed editorial at some of the biggest media groups in the country, among them The New Indian Express, The Sunday Standard, India Today, Media Transasia, The Observer Group, while launching six news channels and a lifestyle channel on television. He is a best-selling author with several critically acclaimed books to his name.
250 pages, Paperback
Published December 27, 2025
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8 people want to read
About the author
Ravi Shankar Etteth
13 books35 followersOne of India’s most famous cartoonists and journalists, Ravi Shankar Etteth published his first book of short stories The Scream of the Dragonflies in 1996. He then went on to write five novels, The Tiger by The River, The Village of Widows, The Gold of Their Regrets, The Book of Shiva and The Brahmin. They have been translated and published in eight international languages. His books cut across all genres like literary fiction, horror, crime and spirituality and periods like feudal Kerala, Nazi Germany and the Magadha Empire. He also collaborated with artist Paresh Maity on a coffee-table book on Kerala. Etteth is now working on his sixth title, Killing Time in Delhi, which he says is a “a novel on the shenanigans of Delhi's super rich”. A Bollywood film on The Brahmin is also in the works.
Ravi Shankar worked for Indian Express in the 1980s, and later as the Creative Director of the Observer Group. He joined India Today as Art Editor and went on to become its Managing Editor and, later, Editor-at-Large. He also edited the India Today Group’s afternoon paper Today and launched the lifestyle magazine India Today Spice. He was briefly the CEO and Editor and Chief of Voice of India and Millionaire. He is now a columnist and Consulting Editor with The New Indian Express and is based in New Delhi.
Ravi Shankar worked for Indian Express in the 1980s, and later as the Creative Director of the Observer Group. He joined India Today as Art Editor and went on to become its Managing Editor and, later, Editor-at-Large. He also edited the India Today Group’s afternoon paper Today and launched the lifestyle magazine India Today Spice. He was briefly the CEO and Editor and Chief of Voice of India and Millionaire. He is now a columnist and Consulting Editor with The New Indian Express and is based in New Delhi.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 31, 2026
The Little Book of Goodbyes by Ravi Shankar Etteth was my first book of the year, and oh my, what an adventure.
I can't imagine what it must be like to have lived a life so full of journeys that there are countless goodbyes to say, and a family with an endless reserve of stories.
At times, the writing felt a little challenging, not because of complex language, but because it carries a distinct rhythm and sensibility. Once I settled into that voice, the stories completely took over. They drew me in, took my mind off everything else, and left me immersed in the warmth and nostalgia of lived
I can't imagine what it must be like to have lived a life so full of journeys that there are countless goodbyes to say, and a family with an endless reserve of stories.
At times, the writing felt a little challenging, not because of complex language, but because it carries a distinct rhythm and sensibility. Once I settled into that voice, the stories completely took over. They drew me in, took my mind off everything else, and left me immersed in the warmth and nostalgia of lived
January 29, 2026
A beautiful little book, tender, magical, and immensely readable.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews