Synopsis This anthology, consisting of sixteen critical essays and one interview, attempts to explore and evaluate the ‘writing difference’ in the novels of Shashi Deshpande. Closely focused on her major concerns such as the enigmatic fissures in human relationships, the arresting figurations of autonomy and responsibility, the challenging dilemmas of cultural representation, of resistance and reconciliation in an urban, postocolonial, Indian milieu, the volume equally makes for an indepth reading and scrutiny of each of Deshpande’s novels published so far. Critical perspectives in these essays, though varied, complement each other and notably cohere to enhance to reader’s understanding of this major Indian English novelist of our times.