‘Provocative and arresting, this is a work of subtle imagination and searching intellect. It is finely written, scrupulously researched and persuasively argued—very much of the times. I look forward to what Manav Ratti next has to say.’ – Elleke Boehmer, Oxford University, UK "The Postsecular Imagination by Manav Ratti is an important book and it has come to us at a time of great need. It is clear, concise, and full of insights that will help us navigate a world all too often polarized by cynicism and half-truths. His presentation to a full house of inquisitive minds was one of the highlights of the past number of years and we cannot say enough about Manav Ratti's charm and poise in front of an audience. The Postsecular Imagination deserves a huge audience."– Neil Wilson, Founding Director, Ottawa International Writers Festival‘[one of] three important monographs [that] signal ... a 'post-secular' turn in postcolonial theory and criticism’ – Graham Huggan in Modern Fiction Studies‘The originality of Ratti's book resides in dealing with literary works as temporal products in which secular tenets have an impact on belief systems, while still recognizing the relevance of the latter. It shares much in common with Saba Mahmood’s Politics of Piety (2005), Achilles Mbembe’s On the Postcolony (2001), and Talal Asad’s Formations of the Secular (2003). Summing Up: Recommended.’ – K.M. Kapanga, University of Richmond, USA in Choice‘Ratti's text is one of the most wide-ranging studies of postsecularism with particular attention to the field of literature.’ – Anthony Paul Smith in Reading the Abrahamic Faiths‘Manav Ratti presents a study that, far from exclusively aiming at literary criticism, tackles one of the most virulent problems of cultural policy head on: the increasingly embattled relation of secularism and religion, in some parts of the world complicated by a nationalist agenda. [...] The interpretations Ratti offers are illuminating and sensitive...the reader will feel tempted to discover the books they have not yet read themselves, a positive effect rarely produced by academic literary criticism. [...] Ideological partisanship and one-sidedness [are] gratifyingly absent from the whole book. Also, the book shows a full command of state-of-the-art literary and cultural theory.’ – Bettina Gruber in Entangled Religions"Most recent writings on the crisis of secularism have tried to fix the flaws in the dominant idea of secularism and come out with a modified version that would withstand the test of real-life politics today. Manav Ratti, not convinced that a retooled version of secularism by itself will be our saviour, has chosen to do the groundwork for those forced to enter the postsecular world and negotiate with its strange landscape with a touch of desperation. A major contribution, this book just cannot be ignored."― Ashis Nandy, Honorary Fellow, Center for the Study of Developing Societies, New Delhi"Provocative and arresting, this is a work of subtle imagination and searching intellect. It is finely written, scrupulously researched and persuasively argued―very much of the times. I look forward to what Manav Ratti next has to say."― Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English, Oxford University"The Postsecular Imagination by Manav Ratti is an important book and it has come to us at a time of great need. It is clear, concise, and full of insights that will help us navigate a world all too often polarized by cynicism and half-truths. His presentation to a full house was one of the highlights of the past number of years and we cannot say enough about Manav Ratti's charm and poise in front of an audience. The Postsecular Imagination deserves a huge audience." ― Neil Wilson, Founding Director, Ottawa International Writers Festival"Written evocatively, this book is an interdisciplinary work useful to those interested in literary criticism, postcolonialism, and sociopolitical theory. Within the spectrum of postsecular discourse, the author takes a balanced, centrist position. This book deserves to be closely read, in text and in spirit." ― The Hindu
