Devi S. Laskar: Midnight, At The War

Devi S. Laskar joins Carol Fitzgerald to discuss her third novel, MIDNIGHT, AT THE WAR, which is primarily set in the years after 9/11. The protagonist, Rita Das, is a journalist inspired by Christiane Amanpour and Sylvia Poggioli, who planted themselves in conflict zones for their reporting. The book explores both personal and professional challenges faced by Rita, who is running from conflicts in her own life into parts of the world where she finds herself in unknown political circumstances as she works. She has complicated relationships, including a rocky marriage, a lover, a sick mother, and difficulties with her father. The unnamed location where Rita is stationed allows readers to focus on universal themes rather than specific geopolitical details. It provides a look at a time when journalism was much more fact-based than it is now, where the most important thing seems to be "being first" instead of "being right." Our Latest "Bookreporter Talks To" Interviews: Allison Pataki: https://youtu.be/5I4q_OFCiTg Patricia Finn: https://youtu.be/QhZagqICgU4 Sadeqa Johnson: https://youtu.be/ED0LOkAarVE Wendy Walker: https://youtu.be/y-2G5AC9heU Ashley Elston: https://youtu.be/Yb_ig0leaQA Paula McLain: https://youtu.be/vKwg0G18sCA Belle Burden: https://youtu.be/kmlJvv037Yg Rebecca Armitage: https://youtu.be/xVTebMX3Bg0 Vicky Nguyen: https://youtu.be/ssPMpaokVp8 Our Latest "Bookaccino Live" Book Group Events: Patrick Ryan: https://youtu.be/keazeWK1lto Lily King: https://youtu.be/_yo2x2ZA0B0 Allen Levi: https://youtu.be/tELDtaqsD7g Clare Leslie Hall: https://youtu.be/j0j3_ScryJg Paula Hawkins: https://youtu.be/nxakmJRaKaY Amy Neff: https://youtu.be/lfHGY8VEyoA Sign up for newsletters from Bookreporter and Reading Group Guides here: https://tbrnetwork.com/newsletters/ FOLLOW US on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookreporter Website: https://www.bookreporter.com Art Credit: Tom Fitzgerald Edited by Jordan Redd Productions