Krishna has been in New York, making documentaries. But, following the death of her grandmother, Krishna returns to her home village in a part of India so feudal, almost medieval in its ways, that, in spite of her essential urbanity and modernity, she must make concessions to tradition. A strange bequest awaits Krishna upon her return. From beyond the grave, Dadiji directs Krishna to enact her dharma (duty), which, it transpires, is to document on film the last days of Damayanti, a strong-minded lawyer who, upon the death of her husband, will commit sati.

Krishna, the “warrior” and the first girl child to be born to her family in five centuries, finds herself caught between the modern world of loose ties and casual relationships (as personified by her westernised lover, Natchek), and the older ties of blood and obligation, where honour transcends love. Always a rebel, Krishna has to confront the fact that her dharma comprises an act as conforming and backward as it is subversive…

 

‘The rich anecdotes and colour provide profound insight into family loyalty, the heavy weight of the past and the encounter with tradition. The emotion of rediscovering one’s roots and the demand for a return to a traditional lifestyle, threatened with extinction by political correctness. Krishna is a young woman searching for her identity while being faithful to the values of her time. The novel is entirely credible and contains characters so well painted that they are genuinely truthful.’ ABC

‘The author succeeds as a successful Bollywood film does. One is eager to reach the climax. Krishna, torn between the rebel and the traditional, the disgust of what her family and clan so strongly believes in and the fear of losing them all, feels so real that one could almost touch her.’ Marie Claire

Rupa Books India;

 

Ediciones El Cobre Spain;

 

Editions Philippe Picquier France;

 

L'Ancora del Mediterraneo Italy;

 

Mono I Manjana Serbia.

 

Material: Finished copies of Indian and Spanish edition (293pp)

WINNER OF THE MAR DE LETRAS PRIZE in Spain

 

Sammie, the cocaine-snorting international wanderer who moves from a small town childhood in India to Mexico, is linked inextricably to mythical women in a debut novel that embodies Hindu tradition and culture, which left untouched by the Enlightenment, makes no distinction between the real and the magical. But the woman who most influences Sammie is Nani, her frail and ruthless grandmother, who is a witch with the power to enter dreams and shape them. A first novel of exceptional talent, Nani’s Book of Suicides explores the cultural identity of an Indian woman through a fund of myths, family lore and contemporary reality.

 

 

‘A first novel of rare scope and power.’ Hindustan Times

 

'The idea behind Suicides is undeniably excellent... She definitely has the talent.' The Indian Express

 

'Sunny Singh... has pioneered a path-taking novel...' The Asian Age

 

'Her first novel is a mix of aromas, like breathing the air of the souk.' Dolores Massot ABC

 

'The author sees the world from the prism of three cultures... The heroine’s journey across several continents becomes an inner journey towards an individual freedom that crosses the whirlwind of sex and drugs... Nani’s Book of Suicides articulated new demands in a way that bypasses the equality of sexes and has its roots instead in the difference.' Matias Nespolo, El Mundo

 

'This staggering claim for the novel as metaphor for dreams…' Victor Andresco quoted by Diego Ortiz in El Faro

 

'The book exudes a sexual confidence not to be attributed solely to the cosmopolitan personality of Sunny Singh; it is rooted in traditional Indian painting, sculpture and writing… and recalls the admirable lack of amatory reserve of the heroines of that marvellous 11th century Sanskrit classic, ‘Tales of the Vampire’.' Vicente Molina Foix in El País

HarperCollins India;

 

Ediciones El Cobre Spain

 

Material: Finished copies (247 pages)