Amir, Mala and their daughter are normal people. Amir goes to his office; Mala reads the newspaper; their young daughter plays alone. But Jha has not chosen to tell a tale of everyday life in Calcutta. Instead he looks inwards at the elaborate stories that people tells themselves. In the looking-glass world of the novel, nothing is quite what it seems. And yet, at the same time, it is all very familiar.

If You Are Afraid of Heights is about the private journeys that people go on in their minds; about imaginations fuelled by the images and narratives of a city. The result is a breathtaking, riotous odyssey that draws you deep into the longings of human beings.