''Socialite Evenings'' is

Shobha De Shobha De ('' née'' Rajadhyaksha, formerly Kilachand; born 7 January 1948) is an Indian novelist and columnist. She is best known for her depiction of socialites and sex in her works of fiction, for which she has been referred to as the "Jackie ...

's first novel. It describes

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

high society and explores the lives of bored, rich housewives trapped in loveless marriages and engaging in ill-fated extramarital affairs, smug selfish husbands who use their wives more for social respectability than for love, fashionable parties, false spiritual leaders, and a portrait of the general moral, spiritual and intellectual bankruptcy and

decadence The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members ...

of the elite who have traded their traditional culture for

Westernization Westernization (or Westernisation), also Europeanisation or occidentalization (from the ''Occident''), is a process whereby societies come under or adopt Western culture in areas such as industry, technology, science, education, politics, econo ...

and materialism.

Plot summary

Karuna, the main protagonist and narrator is caught up in a drab, boring life that she seeks to escape by writing

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

s. Her memoirs are successful and she achieves a measure of fame and pride in herself as she becomes an active socialite and eventually uses her newfound prominence as a celebrity to get herself a position as an advertising copywriter and creator of a television series.

Literary significance & criticism

''Socialite Evenings'' was a critical disaster but a commercial success, likely due in part to its racy and controversial content, something that was unusual in India. It was criticized by traditional elements in Indian society. Although a novel, it closely parallels Shobha De's own rise to fame and appeared to be partially autobiographical.

Release details

* 1989, India, Penguin, New Delhi , Pub date ? ? 1989, paperback * 1995, India, Penguin, New Delhi ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1995, paperback (as part of ''The Shobha De Omnibus'')

References

{{Reflist Novels by Shobhaa De Novels set in Mumbai 1989 Indian novels 1989 debut novels