Born in Karnataka in a well-to-do family Shashi Deshpande is well known in literary circles for depicting the routine life of the average Indian. She does her work in a tremendous way. She is firm in her character and never does the wrong thing in her life. She has earned her respect is her uncompromising position as an Indian writer writing in English. She always tried to portray India as its original face. She never tried to explore it as an exotic land, full of magic and mysticism. These characters often draw the international readership that she tactfully avoided. She used to tell stories about ordinary people in a ordinary way which in turn becomes extra-ordinary. By her writing simple aspects of life come up with simple questions for the readers. In Deshpande's style of writing all the characters seems believable and her success lies in this only.

Synopsis:
'Come Up and Be Dead' is a novel by Shashi Deshpande. In this psychological thriller Shashi Deshpande demonstrate the versatility of her award winning literary skills. The story deals with the suicide of a schoolgirl in an exclusive school. The Head Mistress is unable to deal with the situation and specially when it is followed by rumors pointing at her brother. Two more deaths follow, making the school a place of fear and suspicion. After an attempted murder, Devayani, the Head Mistress cousin and housekeeper, glimpsing a conspiracy behind it all. The story is full of suspense with lots of variety in thoughts. The author made it interesting with wonderful storytelling. This is a unique attempt by Deshpande in English with deep human philosophy.