Sonia Gandhi’s ‘Belonging’ takes off with bibliophiles snapping up copies

Five copies in two hours at Akshara Books in Jubilee Hills. Seven picked up from Off The Shelf in Gachibowli soon after the store received its stock. And 150 orders in just one hour for India Book Distributors. Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, hit the ground running in Hyderabad on Tuesday, with bookshops reporting brisk interest on the day of its launch. The memoir has also made it to Amazon’s bestseller list in the Biographies & Autobiographies category.

“The book is doing very well. We received 1,000 copies in Hyderabad and distribution began at 10.30 a.m. We had multiple enquiries from retail sellers, who were being flooded with calls about the book,” said Anil Gopal of India Book Distributors. He was careful to distinguish the fresh demand from pre-orders, which had opened more than two months ago, on September 4, following a controversy over the Indian publisher and the book’s contents

“This is an original story, not told through the media but in first person with candour. It is already a bestseller as people want to know about the person they have always seen and heard through media or third-person accounts,” said Anil who compared its sale with the earlier bestseller Being by historian Romila Thapar.

The curiosity is also being fuelled by the controversy surrounding the book’s publication, said Manasa of Off The Shelf. “Two of my friends have asked me to pick up copies for them,” she said.

“Belonging is an intimate account of love, identity, relationships and finding one’s place in a country that eventually becomes home. Sonia Gandhi writes with honesty and sensitivity, offering glimpses into her personal journey, her family and the experiences that shaped her life. What stands out is the simplicity and warmth of her narration. A thoughtful read that gives you a different perspective on the person behind the public figure,” wrote one of readers on Amazon.