Spirit Nights

Drawn from a Chang Naga story of darkness, the novel is set in the village of Shumang Laangyu Sang, called River Rock, where spirits help the villagers make their great drum but also attack people and carry off children. It begins when an alarm goes up that a tiger has swallowed the sun. As the night drags on, people are warned to keep to their houses or risk being killed, and the community holds on to its rites and taboos. At the centre are Tola, an old woman who becomes the community's seer, and her grandson Namu, who grows up through the long night, surrounded by neighbours, the village head, and strangers whose visions foretell what lies ahead.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Speculative, Coming of age (assigned by AI)

Set in

India

First published

2022

Author's age

63 when first published

ISBN

9781909954540 (Barbican Press, United Kingdom)

9789392099496 (Simon & Schuster India, India)