The Punkhawala and the Prostitute
“This is the SingLit work I’ve been looking for. Aroozoo has written a thrilling tale of mystery and danger set in the late nineteenth century. I love the gorgeous imagery, the sociocultural authenticity, and prose that evokes unease and wonder in equal measure. The hunt for Rimau Satan hits home in a more contemporarily satisfying manner than the hunt for Moby Dick, and tugs fervently and menacingly at fear triggers I never knew I had. Count me among Aroozoo’s fans, a group that will surely grow with this fine new novel”
- SUFFIAN HAKIM, bestselling author of Harris Bin Potter and the Stoned Philosopher
Singapore Book Awards 2022 Winner
NUS Singapore History Prize 2024 Nominee
Epigram Books Fiction Prize 2021 Finalist
The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers List
Behind the golden façade of a land filled with opportunities dwell two destitute souls, shipped to Singapore in the late 1800s. Oseki, an ingenue forced into prostitution as a karayuki, grapples with being betrayed by her own father and transforms into a monster she can’t recognise. Gobind, a deaf convict from India, serves his sentence as a punkhawala to a British hunter obsessed with killing Rimau Satan, a man-eating tiger of mythic proportions. Whenever Gobind hunts with his master, his butchered memories lurk in the darkness, aching to pounce. When Oseki’s and Gobind’s paths intertwine, they begin to face their inner demons to find their humanity—and their way back home.
Paperback: 352 Pages
Product Dimensions: 152 x 225 mm
ISBN: 9789814901802 ISBN (E-Book): 9789814901819
Published by Epigram Books
Articles and Reviews:
The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers List
Cha : An Asian Literary Journal
Audiobook
Yuriri Naka is a Japanese actress based in London and was nominated for Audio Performer of Year in 2020. She is the voice behind the Sony Playstation 5 Campaign in Japan and recently appeared in the tv series, The Window.
Homer Todiwala is also based in London and is part of the BAFTA-winning ADR team on Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. His voice work includes David Walliam’s Mega monster and Salmon Rushdie’s Midnight Children.
Length: 10h 34m
ISBN: 9789152198032
Published by Storyside
Image and Video : Epigram Books, Singapore Book Publishers Association