The Hindu on Books newsletter: Why we explore - The HinduUpdated - September 23, 2026 08:31 am IST(This story is part of The Hindu on Books newsletter that comes to you with book reviews, reading recommendations, interviews with authors and more. Subscribe here.)What makes us human? It may be our ability to read, our opposable thumbs, our capacity to speak in different languages, fashion tools, or feel empathy for one another. But what also makes us distinctly human is our innate curiosity about the world around us.Toddlers may not be able to move a great deal, but they are already exploring with their senses — squealing when they taste something sour, reaching out to touch a fluffy dog, rattling objects with fierce determination. By the time they are two or three, they begin opening kitchen cabinets and crawling into them, stacking objects only to watch them tumble, and generally waddling towards anything that looks interesting, and often straight into chaos.We never lose that child in us. Teenagers explore the world in their own ways. There are several books about teenagers’ boundless curiosity and their antics: R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Adventures, Richmal Crompton’s William series, Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven and Five Find-Outers, and Katherine Rundell’s Rooftoppers and The Explorer come to mind immediately.Even when we grow into adulthood and visit new lands, we are still not satiated. We keep exploring: the icy expanses of Antarctica, the forests of the Amazon, the beaches of Indonesia, the salt pans of Gujarat, the dunes of Jordan, the hot springs of Yellowstone National Park.Our curiosity also extends beyond the world we inhabit. We ask ourselves questions that have no easy answers, and this too makes us human: Who are we? Where did we come from? How did life begin? Are there other beings like us somewhere on other planets and galaxies?Our fascination with space is, mostly, an extension of this human impulse to explore. I say “mostly” because the history of space exploration is also intertwined with military ambitions. Today, we are also seeing a new kind of space race, driven by billionaires who are obsessed with finding a home elsewhere for humanity in case civilisation falters on earth. But at its best, the exploration of space is about pushing the frontiers of knowledge and gaining a new perspective on our place in the universe.Let’s consider NASA’s Voyager spacecraft. Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft ever to operate outside the heliosphere — the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields generated by the sun, according to NASA. Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space in 2012. In November, it will be about one light-day from earth. In other words, it will take light an entire day to travel from our home planet to the spacecraft.I am far from a science expert and knew little about this mission until I read my colleague Vasudevan Mukunth’s piece on it. And as I read it, I realised there is something profoundly human, exciting, challenging, even mad about sending a small machine so far into the unknown.But the interesting question is not simply how far we can go, but why we do in the first place — and what we hope to find, or understand, when we do. Mukunth looks at three books about Voyager and writes about what the spacecraft’s extraordinary journey tells us about the purpose of exploration. He argues, “In the end, nothing can implicitly justify the impulse to explore because it was never just an impulse. It is always purposeful...” Read his piece here.Books of the weekDavid Shulman, the Israeli Indologist, activist, and poet, has published his latest work, Freedom and Despair: Notes from the West Bank (Context). In his review, Stanly Johny provides context for the book: he says today, some 7.5 lakh Jewish settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and this settler community has become politically powerful and want to expel the Palestinians from their lands. They have even mounted physical attacks on them. It is these stories of horror and terror that Shulman brings to us. Despair, Shulman argues, should act as a catalyst for action and calls for “dogged persistence” from the peace camp.What role does a memoir have in an age of oversharing? Suresh Menon’s essay refers to two recent books — Michael Cunningham’s Unsayable (Fourth Estate Ltd) and Blake Morrison’s On Memoir (The Borough Press) — to argue that memoir is more than just revealing our personal details with the world; it is an attempt to uncover deeper truths while acknowledging that memory is subjective and shaped by hindsight. The essay highlights the importance of shock and honesty in memoir, and what Morrison said about its importance in the age of AI: it will be the “last genre standing”.American novelist Kathryn Stockett’s first novel, The Help, was a huge success. Seventeen years later, she has followed it up with The Calamity Club (Penguin India). The book, set during the Great Depression, explores the lives of three women. Saurabh Sharma says it explores a bleak chapter in American history when government policies included forced sterilisation programmes and the detention of women deemed “promiscuous” or otherwise considered socially unacceptable. He interviews Stockett here.Rejimon Kuttappan’s The River of Grey Flowers (Speaking Tiger) follows John Easow, a Dalit fisherman’s son from Tamil Nadu who travels to Dubai for work but is trafficked along the Myanmar-Thailand border. There, along with other men, he is forced to defraud people. If the men don’t, they are brutally punished. The book is based on the real-life testimonies of people Kuttappan was instrumental in rescuing from scam centres in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, writes Akila Kannadasan in her review here.Abir Mukherjee’s The Pinnacle (Penguin Random House), a satirical take on both Indian and Western society, is set in a luxury skyscraper in Mumbai and revolves around George Abercrombie, his Bollywood heartthrob Sweety, and Sweety’s assistant, Gemma. In an interview with Mini Anthikad Chhibber, Mukherjee talks about the book, his favourite character, and his next project.The Naalaayira Divya Prabandham, a collection of Tamil verses by the 12 Azhwars, is in praise of Lord Vishnu. The history of these centuries-old hymns points to the richness of the literary tradition, yet only some of the works are known today. This is where R.J. Kalpana’s 27-volume book (Pink and Ink Solutions) tries to bridge the gap, writes T.R. Sudha. “Each verse is accompanied by its English meaning, thus making the collection easier to follow for readers who may not be familiar with Tamil.”NightstandSadly I struggled through Douglas Stuart’s John of John, longlisted for the Booker Prize. Perhaps it’s the often unfamiliar language or perhaps it’s simply the characters, but this was quite frustrating. It does seem a favourite among many though, so I predict this will definitely make it to the shortlist, which will be announced tonight.And that’s all from me. Do write to me with suggestions, comments, and feedback to radhika.s@thehindu.co.in. Have a happy reading week!Published - September 22, 2026 01:40 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }