Socialite Evenings

infobox Book |
name = Socialite Evenings
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption =
author = Shobha De
cover_artist =
country = India
language = English
series =
genre = Novel
publisher = Penguin Books
release_date = 1989
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0-14-012267-2
preceded_by =
followed_by = Starry Nights

Socialite Evenings is Shobha De's first novel. It describes a backdrop of Bombay high society and 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 of the Mumbai Elite who have traded in their traditional culture for near total Westernization and the discarding of any discernible values other than materialism.

Plot summary

Karuna, the main protagonist and narrator is caught up in a drab, boring life and she seeks to escape by writing her memoirs. 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.ankit patel

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 fairly new in India at the time.Fact|date=February 2007 Obviously written to shock, it has been widely criticized by many traditional elements in Indian society, De seems to have struck a nerve with many people and it is clear that many, particularly women, in India seem to be able to relate well to the novel. Although a novel, it closely parallels Shobha De's own rise to fame and some consider it to be partially autobiographical. Fact|date=February 2007

Release details

*1989, India, Penguin, New Delhi ISBN 0-14-012267-2, Pub date ? ? 1989, paperback
*1995, India, Penguin, New Delhi ISBN ?, Pub date ? ? 1995, paperback (as part of "The Shobha De Omnibus")