Books and Authors — Study Notes

Overview

Books and Authors is a staple topic in the SSC GD General Awareness section, typically yielding 2–4 direct questions per paper. Questions ask you to match a book title with its author or identify the author given a famous work. This topic rewards structured memorisation rather than reasoning—you either know the pairing or you don't.

The SSC GD paper emphasises Indian authors (freedom fighters, poets, novelists, contemporary writers) and a handful of internationally renowned authors whose works are part of common knowledge. You won't see obscure literary criticism; instead, expect landmark books like autobiographies of freedom fighters, Booker Prize winners, and classic novels that appear in school curricula. Mastering 40–50 key pairings will cover the vast majority of exam questions.

Your strategy should be to build two lists: Indian authors (prioritise freedom movement figures, post-independence novelists, and recent award winners) and international authors (focus on Nobel and Booker laureates, plus universally taught classics). Revise these pairings repeatedly until recall becomes automatic.

Key Concepts

• **Freedom fighters' autobiographies**: Books by Gandhi, Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and other independence leaders appear frequently. Titles like *My Experiments with Truth* and *The Discovery of India* are exam staples.
• **Indian literary awards**: Booker Prize, Sahitya Akademi Award and Jnanpith Award winners dominate the Indian authors list. Know at least one major work per prominent winner.
• **International classics**: Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Tolstoy, and recent Nobel laureates form the core international list. SSC GD rarely ventures beyond 20th-century bestsellers and school-syllabus classics.
• **Autobiographies vs. biographies**: Distinguish who wrote *about* themselves (autobiography) versus who wrote *about* another person (biography). This distinction appears in questions.
• **Pen names**: Some authors (e.g. Mark Twain for Samuel Clemens, George Orwell for Eric Blair) are better known by pseudonyms. The exam uses the popular name but may test your awareness of the real name.
• **Recent Indian bestsellers**: Contemporary authors like Chetan Bhagat, Amish Tripathi and Ruskin Bond appear in current affairs–adjacent questions. Know their signature works.
• **Subject-specific authors**: Some authors are associated with specific fields—Amartya Sen with economics, APJ Abdul Kalam with science and inspiration. The exam may test knowledge of their non-fiction works.
• **Co-authorship**: A few famous books have two authors (e.g. *The Communist Manifesto* by Marx and Engels). Don't assume every book has a single author.

Formulas / Key Facts

**Indian Authors – Freedom Movement Era**

• *My Experiments with Truth* — Mahatma Gandhi (autobiography)
• *The Discovery of India* — Jawaharlal Nehru (written in Ahmednagar Fort prison, 1942–1946)
• *India Wins Freedom* — Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (autobiography)
• *The Indian Struggle* — Subhas Chandra Bose (political history)
• *Hind Swaraj* — Mahatma Gandhi (political philosophy, 1909)

**Indian Authors – Post-Independence Novelists and Poets**

• *Midnight's Children* — Salman Rushdie (Booker Prize 1981, Booker of Bookers)
• *The God of Small Things* — Arundhati Roy (Booker Prize 1997)
• *A Suitable Boy* — Vikram Seth (one of longest novels in English)
• *Train to Pakistan* — Khushwant Singh (Partition novel)
• *Gitanjali* — Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel Prize in Literature 1913, poetry collection)
• *Wings of Fire* — APJ Abdul Kalam (autobiography, co-authored with Arun Tiwari)
• *Ignited Minds* — APJ Abdul Kalam (inspirational, youth development)

**Indian Authors – Contemporary**

• *Five Point Someone* — Chetan Bhagat (debut novel, IIT backdrop)
• *The White Tiger* — Aravind Adiga (Booker Prize 2008)
• *The Immortals of Meluha* — Amish Tripathi (Shiva Trilogy first book)
• *The Room on the Roof* — Ruskin Bond (debut novel, written age 17)
• *An Era of Darkness* — Shashi Tharoor (British colonialism critique)

**International Authors – Classics**

• *Romeo and Juliet*, *Hamlet*, *Macbeth* — William Shakespeare (Elizabethan playwright)
• *Pride and Prejudice* — Jane Austen (English novelist)
• *War and Peace* — Leo Tolstoy (Russian novelist)
• *A Tale of Two Cities* — Charles Dickens (English novelist, French Revolution setting)
• *1984*, *Animal Farm* — George Orwell (English novelist, dystopian fiction)

**International Authors – 20th Century and Modern**

• *The Old Man and the Sea* — Ernest Hemingway (Nobel Prize 1954)
• *One Hundred Years of Solitude* — Gabriel García Márquez (Nobel Prize 1982)
• *Harry Potter* series — J.K. Rowling (British author)
• *The Diary of a Young Girl* — Anne Frank (Holocaust diary)
• *The Alchemist* — Paulo Coelho (Brazilian author, bestselling novel)

**Non-Fiction and Philosophy**

• *Das Kapital* — Karl Marx (economic and political theory)
• *The Communist Manifesto* — Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (political pamphlet, 1848)
• *The Argumentative Indian* — Amartya Sen (essays on Indian history and identity)
• *Arthashastra* — Kautilya (Chanakya) (ancient Indian treatise on statecraft)

Worked Examples

**Example 1**: Who is the author of *The Discovery of India*? **Solution**: *The Discovery of India* was written by **Jawaharlal Nehru** during his imprisonment in Ahmednagar Fort from 1942 to 1946. It is an account of Indian history, culture and philosophy. This book appears frequently in SSC exams, so memorise the title-author pair exactly.

**Example 2**: Match the following: A. *Gitanjali* — 1. Salman Rushdie B. *Midnight's Children* — 2. Rabindranath Tagore **Solution**: A matches with 2 (Rabindranath Tagore wrote *Gitanjali*, Nobel Prize 1913). B matches with 1 (Salman Rushdie wrote *Midnight's Children*, Booker Prize 1981). This format is common—always match carefully and don't rush.

**Example 3**: *Animal Farm* is an allegorical novella by which author? **Solution**: **George Orwell** (real name Eric Arthur Blair). *Animal Farm* (1945) is a satirical allegory of Soviet totalitarianism. Orwell also wrote *1984*. Remember both titles for this author—they often appear together in questions.

Common Mistakes

• **Confusing similar titles**: Students mix up *The Discovery of India* (Nehru) and *India Wins Freedom* (Maulana Azad). Associate "Discovery" with "Nehru" and "Freedom" with "Azad" using a mnemonic.
• **Misattributing Booker Prize winners**: Multiple Indian authors have won the Booker Prize. Don't assume every Booker winner is Arundhati Roy. Know at least four: Salman Rushdie (1981), Arundhati Roy (1997), Kiran Desai (2006, *The Inheritance of Loss*), Aravind Adiga (2008).
• **Ignoring pen names**: Recognising that George Orwell is Eric Blair or Mark Twain is Samuel Clemens can prevent confusion if the question mentions the real name. Always learn both.
• **Overlooking co-authors**: *Wings of Fire* is co-authored by APJ Abdul Kalam and Arun Tiwari. If the question asks "Who co-authored…?", don't write only Kalam. Similarly, *The Communist Manifesto* has two authors—Marx and Engels.
• **Forgetting award context**: Knowing that *Gitanjali* won the Nobel Prize or that *Midnight's Children* won Booker of Bookers adds an extra recall hook and may be asked directly. Don't just memorise title-author; add one fact per major work.

Quick Reference

• *My Experiments with Truth* → Mahatma Gandhi
• *The Discovery of India* → Jawaharlal Nehru
• *Gitanjali* → Rabindranath Tagore (Nobel 1913)
• *Midnight's Children* → Salman Rushdie (Booker 1981)
• *The God of Small Things* → Arundhati Roy (Booker 1997)
• *Wings of Fire* → APJ Abdul Kalam (with Arun Tiwari)
• *Animal Farm* & *1984* → George Orwell
• *Harry Potter* series → J.K. Rowling
• *The Alchemist* → Paulo Coelho
• *Train to Pakistan* → Khushwant Singh
• *Five Point Someone* → Chetan Bhagat
• *Pride and Prejudice* → Jane Austen
• *War and Peace* → Leo Tolstoy
• *The White Tiger* → Aravind Adiga (Booker 2008)