Moth

Melody Razak

ONE OF THE OBSERVER'S 'TEN DEBUT NOVELISTS' OF 2021 'Powerful and heartbreaking' Observer 'Gripping... Razak painstakingly paints a portrait of a family; their rituals, their private languages, their shared lives. This careful characterisation pays off, heartbreakingly, when the horrors of partition wreak havoc on small, happy lives' The Times 'Heartbreaking and heart-warming... The character portrayal is so intricate that as the plot twists and turns, you'll truly care what happens to them' Independent 'I adored Moth. It's rare for a writer to appear fully-formed, but that's how I see Melody Razak: this is a remarkable novel and one of the best debuts I've ever read' Sarah Winman, author of Still Life 'Powerful and moving... Every character springs from the page' Clare Chambers, author of Small Pleasures Delhi, 1946. Ma and Bappu teach at the local university. Their fourteen-year-old daughter - precocious, headstrong Alma - is soon to be married: Alma is mostly interested in the wedding shoes and spinning wild stories for her little sister Roop. Times are bad for girls in India: the long-awaited independence from British rule brings unrest that threatens to unravel the rich tapestry of Delhi. And when Partition happens overnight, Ma, Bappu, Alma and Roop are forced to find new and increasingly desperate ways to survive. But the power of hope is an extraordinary thing...