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* A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK FOR 2023 *
* LONGLISTED FOR THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2024 *
‘A shimmering slice of Trinidadian gothic’ THE TIMES
‘An astonishing novel’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO
‘Deeply impressive ’ HILARY MANTEL
The music was still playing when Dalton Changoor vanished into thin air...
On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognisable to those who reside in the farm’s shadow. Down below is the barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops – Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, who live hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty and devotion to faith.
When Dalton Changoor goes missing and Marlee’s safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as watchman. But as the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds their lives become hellishly entwined, and the small community altered forever.
Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of 1940s colonial central Trinidad.
A 2023 highlight for: Financial Times * Guardian * Evening Standard * Daily Mail * BBC News
