Moth

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'

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 one of the best debuts I've ever read'

SARAH WINMAN

'Takes us right into the heart and heat of Partition-era Delhi. A rare delight'

ANNA HOPE

'A powerful and moving family story: every character springs from the page'

CLARE CHAMBERS

Delhi, 1946.

Ma and Bappu are liberal intellectuals teaching at the local university. Their fourteen year-old daughter - precocious, headstrong Alma - is soon to be married: Alma is mostly interested in her wedding shoes and in spinning stories for her beloved younger sister Roop.

Times are bad for girls in India. The long-awaited independence from British rule is heralding a new era of hope, but political unrest is brewing, threatening to unravel the rich tapestry of Delhi - a city where different cultures have co-existed for centuries.

When Partition happens and the British Raj is fractured overnight, this wonderful family is violently torn apart and its members are forced to find new ways to survive.

But the resilience of the human spirit is an extraordinary thing...