Release Date: October 6, 2026
Available for Pre-Order
Pre-order the print edition here
a novel by Kuzhali Manickavel
In the oppressive heat of a small Tamil Nadu town, strange happenings are common. And the local government secondary school is teeming with supernatural entities.
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...
"A wonderfully strange work of magical realism... Readers will find this irresistable"
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"You've never read anything quite like this before, and you must do so instantly"
—Vajra Chandrasekera, author of Rakesfall
"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
If you are outside India, consider pre-ordering the international edition from UK publishers Angry Robot.
About the Author
Kuzhali Manickavel was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently lives in Bangalore. This is her first novel. More info can be found at www.kuzhalimanickavel.com
Cover design by Saurav Singh
Short fiction collections by Kuzhali Manickavel:
Insects Are Just Like You and Me Except Some of Them Have Wings
Things We Found During the Autopsy
Conversations Regarding the Fatalistic Outlook of the Common Man
Zines & chapbooks by Kuzhali Manickavel:
Eating Sugar, Telling Lies (eBook single)
The Lucy Temerlin Institute for Broken Shapeshifters Guide to Starving Boys
How to Love Mathematical Objects
It's My Passion. It's My Style. OK?
You Go Man! Why Me?: How to Interact with Certain Supernatural Beings in Certain Terrible Places