A COMPENDIUM OF SUPERNATURAL ENTITIES Earns a Starred Review
Kuzhali Manickavel's A COMPENDIUM OF SUPERNATURAL ENTITIES FOUND IN THE GOVERNMENT GIRLS HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL Earns a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly Ahead of October 6 Release
The cult favourite writer's debut novel — published in India by Blaft Publications and internationally by Angry Robot — blends surreal horror with the sharp, unsettling wit her longtime readers know her for.
Acclaimed Indian writer Kuzhali Manickavel's debut novel, A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, will be released on October 6, published in India by Blaft and internationally by Angry Robot. Ahead of publication, the novel has received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, which called it “a wonderfully strange work of magical realism… Readers will find this irresistible.”
For Thamarai, an outsider considered strange by her peers, life is dreary and frustrating. She endures nosy neighbours and incomprehensible tuition classes. She despises the way her lecherous English teacher harasses the other girls in her grade. But when Thamarai finds a mysterious notebook full of descriptions of the school's paranormal phenomena, she wonders if it may hold the key to escape...
Manickavel, whose short fiction has appeared in Granta, Strange Horizons, The White Review, and Agni, has built a devoted readership over three acclaimed story collections published by Blaft, including Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings and Things We Found During the Autopsy. A Compendium of Supernatural Entities is her first novel.
Advance Praise
“A wonderfully strange work of magical realism… Readers will find this irresistible.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"You've never read anything quite like this before, and you must do so instantly. "
— Vajra Chandrasekera, author of The Saint of Bright Doors
“Filled with longings, jealousies and dangers… will compel you to linger with Thamarai and her schoolmates in their spectral halls long after they have graduated and the book has ended.”
— Suzan Palumbo, author of Skin Thief
“One of my favourite writers, and a completely unique voice. This book is a must!”
— Lavie Tidhar, author of Maror
“Absurd. Clever. Poignant. Irreverent in the best way… I’ve been waiting a long time for a novel from Kuzhali Manickavel.”
— Mahvesh Murad, editor, The Djinn Falls in Love
Availability
e-ARCs and a limited number of print ARCs are available for reviewers, booksellers, and media. Contact blaft@blaft.com
About the Book
A Compendium of Supernatural Entities Found in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School
By Kuzhali Manickavel
Publication date: October 6
Publisher (India): Blaft Publications
ISBN: 978-81-99509-14-6
Publisher (International): Angry Robot
ISBN: 978-1-915998-86-6
About Kuzhali Manickavel
Kuzhali Manickavel is an Indian writer based in Bengaluru. Her short story collections — including Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings, Things We Found During the Autopsy, and Conversations Regarding the Fatalistic Outlook of the Common Man — are published by Blaft Publications. Her work has appeared in Granta, Strange Horizons, The White Review, Agni, Subtropics, Michigan Quarterly Review, and DIAGRAM.
About Blaft Publications
Blaft Publications is an independent publishing house based in Chennai, India. Our list includes Indian pulp novels in English translation; weird fiction; folktales; ghostlore; graphic novels; street lettering; zines; and picture books about young women who are in love with monsters.
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