BACK TO THE FUTURE (Pictured above)'Zone' by Manjula Padmanabhan | Hachette India, Rs. 699 | 344 pagesZone, the much-awaited third part of Manjula Padmanabhan’s Meiji trilogy, is out, more than a decade after the last entry. It charts Meiji’s journey across the Zone, the future name of the continent we know as Africa. The previous books have been reissued with new cover illustrations by the author.FAMILY MATTERS 'You Envy The Coutinhos' By Michelle D’Costa | WestlandTranquebar, Rs. 499 | 200 pagesJoachim Coutinho swaps his cesspit of a life in Mangalore for a job in Bahrain, but the gulf—pun intended—between the fantasy and the reality is stark. To make matters worse, his nephew Darrel aspires to the same life. Michelle D’Costa’s debut novel is a spry account of the migrant experience.SHE AND THE CITY 'I In The Sky: A Chandigarh Chronicle' By Neel Kamal Puri | Speaking Tiger, Rs. 499 | 304 pagesA dead woman—whose body has floated to the surface of Sukhna Lake—looks back at her life and that of the city of Chandigarh. Bubbly was born in a canvas tent, in the early years of Chandigarh’s making, and she and the city have grown up alongside. Is the definitive Chandigarh novel finally here?MARRIAGE AND MORALS 'Moms' By Shivani Sibal | Harper Fiction, Rs. 599 | 264 pagesAfter a promising debut—Equations in 2021—Shivani Sibal is back with Moms, a novel about motherhood and marriage. The protagonist, Radhika Khanna, seems to have the perfect life, cossetted by wealth and stature in Delhi society. But then the fissures appear and it all starts to fall apart.HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL 'Grief Burns Like Fever' By Minakshi Thakur | WestlandTranquebar, Rs. 499 | 216 pagesIt’s not often that publishers double up as writers, even though their day job keeps them in close proximity to books. Minakshi Thakur, who heads Ekad—Westland’s vibrant regional languages and translation imprint—is part of the select tribe that wears both hats. Set during the second wave of the pandemic, her meditative new novel is a paean to hope in the face of mortality.—Compiled by Amit Dixit- Ends