"People have less patience with each other; they also have higher expectations," said Priya Hingorani, a leading New Delhi divorce lawyer whose practice has soared.
De's editor attributed the book's success to the fact that middle-class "India can recognize themselves" in it.
De has gone beyond chronicling the sexual frolics of Bombay's idle rich to "become a commentator on life and society," Karthika said.
De churns out her books and columns in furious longhand, writing amid the bustle of her family penthouse and is recognized as one of India's most hardworking authors.
Having published 11 books, she has built a bank of readers who loyally vault her to the top of Indian bestseller charts, but remains virtually unknown overseas, unlike other Indian literary exports, such as Vikram Seth and Arundhati Roy. But her "Hinglish" style of writing, which she liberally salts with Hindi words, makes it hard for her books to travel, Karthika said.
De said she is not unhappy about her relative anonymity abroad: "I have my own constituency."
De's book tackles "One-night Stands" -- saying they often end in tears -- and how to "Sex Up" married life, topics highlighting how fast morality is changing in urban India.
Indian women are "in the process of becoming more proactive -- they don't have to sell out," she said.
She offers comfort to young women in what she calls India's marriage-obsessed society who are "brainwashed that without a husband they are incomplete," telling them, "You can marry the right man at the right time."
But for the commitment-phobic, De says, "Don't knock [marriage] till you've tried it."
Her acid test for successful marriage?
"If the good memories outnumber the bad ones, it's fair to declare the marriage a success."
RSS