Sunny Singh
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
Sales
- HarperCollins India
- Ediciones El Cobre Spain
Material: finished copies (247pp)