When was the The Lives of Others written?

The novel is set in the 1960s in Calcutta (Kolkata) and follows an affluent business family, one of which becomes embroiled in extremist political action. The book is about the generational divide, and it is set against a backdrop in which the gap between the rich and the poor has never been bigger.

The novel is divided between two intertwining narratives, each with its own font. The first is an epistolary chronicle of a violent agrarian uprising told through the eyes of Supratik Ghosh, a descendant of the Ghosh family who has left his country to mobilize oppressed peasants against corrupt moneylenders and landowners. The other is a third-person narrative centered on the Ghosh family, which makes up the majority of the book. The article briefly mentions key events in the city's history, including the Bengal famine of 1943, the Great Calcutta Killings of 1946, and India's Partition. The majority of the action takes place between 1968 and 1972.

The text uses Bengali terms and phrases, as do many other Indian novels are written in English. A family tree is included, as well as a glossary of Bengali relational words. The tale revolves around the conflict between classes. According to The Statesman, the book has a neo-orientalist agenda.