The Architecture of Modern Empire

Conversations with David Barsamian

A wide-ranging and illuminating collection of conversations with award-winning writer Arundhati Roy, this volume explores subjects ranging from U.S. imperial power and Indian nationalism to the responsibilities and possibilities of a writer’s work.

Known as a novelist for the richness of her language and the intricate architecture of her storytelling, Roy is equally recognized as a political essayist whose prose is incisive, probing, and unflinching. Those same qualities animate the interviews gathered here by journalist David Barsamian.

This newly expanded edition, featuring conversations spanning from 2001 to 2022 and an evocative foreword by Naomi Klein, traces the evolution of Roy’s political thinking and commitments throughout the upheavals of the twenty-first century.

The Architecture of Modern Empire ultimately offers a powerful examination of how power operates across nations and institutions, while also reflecting on the vital role of imagination and creative expression in envisioning a profoundly different and more just world.