Publish With Us

Follow Penguin

Follow Penguinsters

Follow Hind Pocket Books

Book Of Shadows

Book Of Shadows

Namita Gokhale
Select Preferred Format

The avengers of my vanity have broken me, humbled me with these small depredations of skin and bone and tissue, leaving me less than I was.’ Scarred by her lover’s suicide and an acid attack that has left her permanently disfigured, Rachita Tiwari has sought refuge in a remote house in the Himalayan foothills. In this rambling house, built by a foolhardy missionary over a hundred years ago, she lives alone”save for the company of the ancient and mysterious manservant, Lohaniju”painting and repainting her nails a bright red, careful not to look into mirrors. As she retreats into herself, battling for her sanity and fearful of a world she no longer trusts, a different dimension claims her and the tremendous history of the house is played out before her. There is the vain fool, Captain Wolcott, and his tragically sensuous mistress, Dona Rosa, -of the wandering heart’; the doomed lovers Marcus and Munro, disciples of Aleister Crowley, infamous dabbler in black magic; Father Benedictus, -seeker of knowledge’, at peace with himself and his God; and the all-knowing, sage crows. With and above them all is the resident ghost of the house, solitary and sad, at times merely an observer as the fantastical destinies unfold around him, and at times unable to remain detached. After a century of silence something compels him to speak”words that the injured woman now inhabiting the house will hear; words that will give her back to herself. Part ghost story, part erotic romance, The Book of Shadows is an ambitious book that investigates the nature of reality, love and faith. It is a work of startling originality by one of India’s most daring and talented writers. -Our kind is not nourished by the sun: it is the moon which gives us sustenance. We wax and wane with the moon, except when harnessed by a human energy, when the pull of the tides loses its grip. As dawn broke over the mountains, lighting up the still white presences of the snows, I fled to my refuge, my fated spot. This night of passion, my first, had initiated me into the sorrows of mankind; the unfaith, the terrible and tenuous link of love.

Imprint: India Penguin

Published: May/2001

ISBN: 9780140282115

Length : 240 Pages

MRP : ₹299.00

Book Of Shadows

Namita Gokhale

The avengers of my vanity have broken me, humbled me with these small depredations of skin and bone and tissue, leaving me less than I was.’ Scarred by her lover’s suicide and an acid attack that has left her permanently disfigured, Rachita Tiwari has sought refuge in a remote house in the Himalayan foothills. In this rambling house, built by a foolhardy missionary over a hundred years ago, she lives alone”save for the company of the ancient and mysterious manservant, Lohaniju”painting and repainting her nails a bright red, careful not to look into mirrors. As she retreats into herself, battling for her sanity and fearful of a world she no longer trusts, a different dimension claims her and the tremendous history of the house is played out before her. There is the vain fool, Captain Wolcott, and his tragically sensuous mistress, Dona Rosa, -of the wandering heart’; the doomed lovers Marcus and Munro, disciples of Aleister Crowley, infamous dabbler in black magic; Father Benedictus, -seeker of knowledge’, at peace with himself and his God; and the all-knowing, sage crows. With and above them all is the resident ghost of the house, solitary and sad, at times merely an observer as the fantastical destinies unfold around him, and at times unable to remain detached. After a century of silence something compels him to speak”words that the injured woman now inhabiting the house will hear; words that will give her back to herself. Part ghost story, part erotic romance, The Book of Shadows is an ambitious book that investigates the nature of reality, love and faith. It is a work of startling originality by one of India’s most daring and talented writers. -Our kind is not nourished by the sun: it is the moon which gives us sustenance. We wax and wane with the moon, except when harnessed by a human energy, when the pull of the tides loses its grip. As dawn broke over the mountains, lighting up the still white presences of the snows, I fled to my refuge, my fated spot. This night of passion, my first, had initiated me into the sorrows of mankind; the unfaith, the terrible and tenuous link of love.

Select Preferred Format

Namita Gokhale

Namita Gokhale is a writer, publisher and festival director. She is the author of eighteen works of fiction and non-fiction. Her acclaimed debut novel, Paro: Dreams of Passion, published in 1984, has remained a cult classic and has been issued in a double edition with its sequel Priya. Gokhale has worked extensively across genres on Indian mythology, including her retelling of the Indian epic in the Puffin Mahabharata, and her novel for young readers, Lost in Time: Ghatotkacha and the Game of Illusions. The edited anthologies Himalaya and The Himalayan Arc: East of South East, provide valuable resource material on the culture and politics of the region. Gokhale is also founder and co-director of the Jaipur Literature Festival and of Mountain Echoes, the Bhutan Literature Festival. She is director of Yatra Books, a publishing house specializing in translation.

More By The Author

Shakuntala

Shakuntala

Namita Gokhale
The Puffin Mahabharata

The Puffin Mahabharata

Namita Gokhale
Lost in Time

Lost in Time

Namita Gokhale, Namita Gokhale
In Search Of Sita

In Search Of Sita

Namita Gokhale, Malashri Lal
Paro

Paro

Namita Gokhale
Priya

Priya

Namita Gokhale
Jaipur Journals

Jaipur Journals

Namita Gokhale, Namita Gokhale
error: Content is protected !!