The Gypsy Goddess : From the Author of 'When I Hit You'

LONGLISTED FOR 2014 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE Laugh-out-loud funny, brilliantly original and angry, The Gypsy Goddess is as much a novel about a true-life massacre as it is a novel about the impossibility of writing a novel about a true-life massacre. It sits on the line between powerful fiction and fearsome critique. Tamil Nadu, 1968. Village landlords rule over a feudal system that forces peasants to break their backs in the fields or suffer beatings as punishment. In the misery of their daily lives it is little wonder that the Communist Party begins to gain traction, a small spark of defiance spreading from villager to villager. As communities across the region begin to take a stand against the landlords, the landlords vow to break them; Party organizers suffer grisly deaths and the flow of food into the market-places dries up. But it only serves to make the villagers' resistance burn more fiercely. Finally, the landlords descend on one village to... Tamil Nadu, 1968. Village Landlords Rule Over A Feudal System That Forces Peasants To Break Their Backs In The Fields Or Suffer Beatings As Punishment. In The Misery Of Their Daily Lives It Is Little Wonder That The Communist Party Begins To Gain Traction, A Small Spark Of Defiance Spreading From Villager To Villager. As Communities Across The Region Begin To Take A Stand Against The Landlords, The Landlords Vow To Break Them; Party Organizers Suffer Grisly Deaths And The Flow Of Food Into The Market-places Dries Up. But It Only Serves To Make The Villagers' Resistance Burn More Fiercely. Finally, The Landlords Descend On One Village To Set An Example To The Others... Meena Kandasamy. The provocative debut by the Women's Fiction Prize 2018-shortlisted author of When I Hit You. When women take to protest, there is no looking back. Sometimes it is over working conditions, other times, perhaps, a strike for higher wages. And so, in a hungry, back-broken community of villages in Tamil Nadu, a group of rural workers begin to defy their landlords. The landlords, in turn, vow to violently crush them. But these punishments only serve to strengthen the villagers' resistance - after all, when starvation is the only option, what else is there to lose...? A timely re-release of the astonishing, provocative debut by the Women's Fiction Prize 2018-shortlisted author of When I Hit You