[The Afternoon Girl 01] • Afternoon Girl

‘Work is the best therapy, good Scotch the best antidepressant.’

A brief encounter between a young gynaecologist (and aspiring writer) and one of the most celebrated and enigmatic authors of our time sows the seeds of an unusual friendship that is fuelled as much by their afternoon meetings over a few decades as the letters and ribald jokes they exchange.

Afternoon Girl celebrates a friendship that swings between love and loathing, adoration and indifference, support and abandonment, but stands the test of time and circumstance. It looks back on a world where nurturing a friendship took much more effort than putting fingers to screen or keyboard. She shares with him her most intimate secrets, he writes to her about his preoccupation with growing old and possibly infirm. With disarming honesty, the book builds and busts a few myths, and offers unexpected insights into Khushwant Singh: good and sometimes ill-humoured mentor, garrulous yet grumpy friend and reclusive but outspoken old man.