Something Black in the Lentil Soup, my debut novel is out again in September 2026! The central character Kavi Naidu is back, freshly revived in a brand new re-edition by the wonderful Renard Press. Here he is muddling through life and making the same mistakes.

Join him in his laugh-out-loud capers through Seventies London and Delhi, when dangerous liaisons were not quite hush hush and time moved to its own sensuous rhythm.

Reviews for Something Black in the Lentil Soup

I was thrilled when the illustrious Sunday Times critic, the late John Carey described it ‘as a gem of straight faced comedy.’

”Ruia is a novelist of rare talent. Again, I do not say this lightly; I’m aware the phrase is hackneyed. But Ruia displays such a talent for observation, one can’t help but be in awe of it. Ruia must remember the Seventies only as a blurry childhood memory. And hence it is nothing short of sheer brilliance to have captured it with such generosity of detail. The tiniest intricacies from names of sweets and newspapers to popular sentiments reminiscent of the era do not escape her cyclopean eye and almost-encyclopaedic knowledge of Delhi.” Selma Carvalho, Joao-Roque Literary Journal est. 2017

“With echoes of A Confederacy of Dunces, both in terms of the self-aggrandising hero and the humour that weaves the narrative together, this is absolutely worth reading. I look forward to more from this author and can’t wait to see what comes next.” Bookaholic Bex

“Another story of India and Britain from Ruia, a comic caper as poet Kavi Naidu visits Britain as part of a Commonwealth Prize trip. He is such a great character, an unreliable narrator of sorts who misses the complex history & prejudice around him. Just published by Renard Press.” Bec Evans

“At the heart of Reshma Ruia’s Something Black in the Lentil Soup is Kavi Naidu, an aspiring poet who travels from Delhi to London to compete for the Commonwealth Poetry Prize. His literary ambitions are rivalled only by his sense of his own importance. Pompous, self-absorbed and gloriously unaware of how he appears to others, Kavi repeatedly makes himself a figure of ridicule, exposing the gulf between the man he imagines himself to be and the man the world sees. Through Kavi’s experiences and opinions, Ruia casts a wry, perceptive eye over India and Britain, finding humour in their contrasts, contradictions and cultural misunderstandings. Beneath the comedy, she explores the social conventions, cultural tensions and assumptions that shape how people see themselves and others. Her gift lies in revealing the absurdities of everyday life while exposing the attitudes and expectations that exist beneath them.
Kavi may never quite realise that he is the joke, but Ruia makes sure that we do.” Nadia Kabir Barb

“This book is jam packed full of wonderful characters – Amma, Sharmila, Billo, Mr and Mrs Mystery, Lord and Lady Weinberg, Mrs Pereira, Father O’Brian and the glorious Mrs Watanabe and so many more terrific people brought to life in full (Techni) colour and Bollywood pizzazz. I eagerly read chapter after chapter absorbed by Kavi Naidu’s story, of the people he knew and those he came to know, of his life, his family and his ability to be so self absorbed and yet still be a humble and naive soul who had a great capacity to draw people to him in love and friendship. This is a wonderful book that takes a slice of the life of a naive, self absorbed, flawed and yet still a very human Indian man at home and abroad. With warmth, wit and compassion Reshma Ruia has brought us an honest, authentic and wonderful story well worth reading.” Janet Loves Books

Something Black in the Lentil Soup is a comical and irreverent portrayal of three parallel cultures-British, Indian and British-Indian-with penetrating insights into social mores and conventions.

Kavi Naidu arrives in England, a contender for the prestigious Commonwealth literary prize. A pompous, sentimental and not terribly attractive figure, he is suddenly catapulted from the sleepy humdrum routine of Delhi, into the heady distractions of London.

Excerpt:
‘If you took the second road to the right of Minto Bridge, past the washerwomen’s bustee and Balwant Rai’s teashop, stopping just before the Delhi branch of the Church of Scientology, you would reach our house. The household, consisting of my parents, my wife Kamala and Feroze, my son occupied the ground floor of number twenty-three Rouse Avenue. These were a modest set of flats built for Ministry babus with modest official means. It was a colony of bicycles and two-wheeler Vespas and housewives who grumbled over the price of sugar. Only Mr Basu, our upstairs neighbour, boasted a car, a Fiat Padmini that coughed into life during the Pooja holidays, when Mr Basu visited his relatives in Chitteranjan Park. ‘

“Reshma Ruia’s warm, sly humour and sharp eye for human failings brings Kavi and all those around him vividly to life in this entertaining tale of an innocent abroad.” Rosemary Hudson

“Ironic humour and a fierce wit combine in his haunting Tale of East meets West.” Gary Pulsifer, Arcadia