Archive · 18 Sep 2026
Crossword Book Awards Picks Include Sarnath Banerjee’s Absolute Jafar
The Crossword Book Awards are celebrating their 20th edition.
They selected 50 books for a longlist in several categories.
One recommended book is called Absolute Jafar.
It was written by Sarnath Banerjee and is a graphic novel.
The main character, Brighu, walks around Delhi a lot.
He marries Mahrukh, an artist from Karachi, but their marriage later ends.
Their son Jafar grows up connected to both families through stories about jinns and street food.
The book uses humour to explore family, migration and continuing forward even when life feels stuck.
The Crossword Book Awards have reached their landmark 20th edition.
The awards’ longlist includes 50 titles across five categories.
Sarnath Banerjee’s semi-autobiographical graphic novel Absolute Jafar is nominated for Fiction.
The story follows Brighu, a Delhi-based compulsive walker, and his marriage to Mahrukh, an artist from Karachi.
The novel explores fractured family histories, migration, waiting, walking and perseverance through deadpan humour.
- Who
- Sarnath Banerjee, author of Absolute Jafar, and the Crossword Book Awards.
- What
- Absolute Jafar was recommended as a Fiction nominee in the Crossword Book Awards’ 20th-edition longlist.
- When
- The awards are in their landmark 20th edition; the recommendation was made this week.
- Where
- The story is set across or connected to Delhi, Karachi and Berlin.
- Why
- The book was recommended for its humour, artistry and meditation on walking, waiting, migration and fractured histories.
- Award
- Crossword Book Awards
- Edition
- 20th edition
- Longlist
- 50 titles
- Book
- Absolute Jafar
- Author
- Sarnath Banerjee
- Category
- Fiction
- Publisher
- HarperCollins India