Kevin Jared Hosein

A Novel

Hungry Ghosts

"The Beast of Kukuyo is a gripping mystery told through the eyes of 15-year-old Rune Mathura and set in the 1990s. The gritty tale begins with the disappearance of Dumplin Heera, a fifteen year-old East Indian girl in the quiet rural village of Kukuyo. The murder happens while the town is plunged in darkness and the story unveils a deeper moral darkness festering beneath the surface. In part driven by her keen interest in crime fiction, particularly Murder She Wrote, Rune decides that she has seen too much tragedy without redress. Having lost her mother in a senseless act of violence, Rune is unable to sit still when her classmate, Dumpling Heera, is found dead in their village. Rune, an incredibly resourceful young woman, sees this as her chance to make a difference and dives headfirst into a swirling mess of secrets buried in the heart of her village. She bucks against the ease with which villagers try to get back to normal and get over the atrocity. But this is no Nancy Drew novle. Rune soon learns that despite her best intentions her eagerness to right this wrong leaves her almost blind to the truth, and the nuances that colour justice."--Amazon.com.

The Beast of Kukuyo

_____________________________ * A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK FOR 2023 * * WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2024 * 'A shimmering slice of Trinidadian gothic' THE TIMES 'An astonishing novel' BERNARDINE EVARISTO 'Deeply impressive ' HILARY MANTEL The music was still playing when Dalton Changoor vanished into thin air... On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognisable to those who reside in the farm's shadow. Down below is the barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops – Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, who live hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty and devotion to faith. When Dalton Changoor goes missing and Marlee's safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as watchman. But as the mystery of Dalton's disappearance unfolds their lives become hellishly entwined, and the small community altered forever. Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of 1940s colonial central Trinidad. A 2023 highlight for: Financial Times * Guardian * Evening Standard * Daily Mail * BBC News

Winner of the 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

_____________________________ * A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK FOR 2023 * * WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION 2024 * 'A shimmering slice of Trinidadian gothic' THE TIMES 'An astonishing novel' BERNARDINE EVARISTO 'Deeply impressive ' HILARY MANTEL The music was still playing when Dalton Changoor vanished into thin air... On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognisable to those who reside in the farm's shadow. Down below is the barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops - Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, who live hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty and devotion to faith. When Dalton Changoor goes missing and Marlee's safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as watchman. But as the mystery of Dalton's disappearance unfolds their lives become hellishly entwined, and the small community altered forever. Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of 1940s colonial central Trinidad. A 2023 highlight for: Financial Times * Guardian * Evening Standard * Daily Mail * BBC News

_____________________________* A BBC TWO BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK FOR 2023 * 'This shimmering slice of Trinidadian gothic deserves to be a Booker contender . . . [A] sumptuous, brilliantly written novel' THE TIMES'An astonishing novel - linguistically gorgeous, narratively propulsive and psychologically profound' BERNARDINE EVARISTO'Deeply impressive . . . Energy and inventiveness distinguish every page' HILARY MANTEL'The biggest, most frightening, beautiful and alive novel I've read in as long as I can remember' EVIE WYLD_____________________________A 2023 highlight for: Financial Times * Guardian * Evening Standard * Daily Mail * BBC NewsThe music was still playing when Dalton Changoor vanished into thin air... On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognisable to those who reside in the farm's shadow. Down below is the barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops - Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, who live hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty and devotion to faith. When Dalton Changoor goes missing and Marlee's safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as watchman. But as the mystery of Dalton's disappearance unfolds their lives become hellishly entwined, and the small community altered forever.Hungry Ghosts is a mesmerising novel about violence, religion, family and class, rooted in the wild and pastoral landscape of 1940s colonial central Trinidad._____________________________

A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick - and 'an Early Contender for the Booker' (the Times)

LONGLISTED FOR THE SWANSEA UNIVERSITY DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE WINNER OF THE WALTER SCOTT PRIZE FOR HISTORICAL FICTION “This is a deeply impressive book, and I think an important one. Its intensity, its narrative attack, the fascinations of its era and setting, make it impossible to tear the attention away. Energy and inventiveness distinguish every page.” — Hilary Mantel From an unforgettable new voice in Caribbean literature, a sweeping story of two families colliding in 1940s Trinidad—and a chilling mystery that shows how interconnected their lives truly are Trinidad in the 1940s, nearing the end of American occupation and British colonialism. On a hill overlooking Bell Village sits the Changoor farm, where Dalton and Marlee Changoor live in luxury unrecognizable to those who reside in the farm’s shadow. Down below is the Barrack, a ramshackle building of wood and tin, divided into rooms occupied by whole families. Among these families are the Saroops—Hans, Shweta, and their son, Krishna, all three born of the barracks. Theirs are hard lives of backbreaking work, grinding poverty, devotion to faith, and a battle against nature and a social structure designed to keep them where they are. But when Dalton goes missing and Marlee’s safety is compromised, farmhand Hans is lured by the promise of a handsome stipend to move to the farm as a watchman. As the mystery of Dalton’s disappearance unfolds, the lives of the wealthy couple and those who live in the barracks below become insidiously entwined, their community changed forever and in shocking ways. A searing and singular novel of religion, class, family, and historical violence, and rooted in Trinidad’s wild pastoral landscape and inspired by oral storytelling traditions, Hungry Ghosts is deeply resonant of its time and place while evoking the roots and ripple effects of generational trauma and linked histories; the lingering resentments, sacrifices, and longings that alter destinies; and the consequences of powerlessness. Lyrically told and rendered with harrowing beauty, Hungry Ghosts is a stunning piece of storytelling and an affecting mystery, from a blazingly talented writer.

Garfield Ellis

Janice Lynn Mather

Sharon Millar

Barbara Jenkins

Kevin Baldeosingh

Joanne C. Hillhouse

Dwight Thompson

Ivory Kelly

Sharon Leach

Ezekel Alan

Heather Barker

Kimmisha Thomas

"This wonderful anthology of fresh voices . . . includes writers from Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago." — Booklist Akashic Books and Peepal Tree Press, two of the foremost publishers of Caribbean literature, launch a joint Caribbean-focused imprint, Peekash Press, with this anthology. Consisting entirely of brand-new stories by authors living in the region (not simply authors from the region), this collection gathers the very best entries to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, including a mix of established and up-and-coming writers from islands throughout the Caribbean. Pepperpot features the 2013 Commonwealth Prize–winning story "The Whale House" by Sharon Millar and contributions by Barbara Jenkins, Kevin Baldeosingh, Kevin Jared Hosein, Dwight Thompson, Ezekel Alan, Kimmisha Thomas, Garfield Ellis, Sharon Leach, Ivory Kelly, Heather Barker, Joanne C. Hillhouse, and Janice Lynn Mather. "The wonder in these stories is that they show Caribbean culture—the people, sounds, food, and music . . . this book will appeal to readers of Caribbean fiction and beyond." — Library Journal "One of my favorite reads of the last few months . . . sophisticated and engrossing . . . A big recommendation today for one and all." —Chicago Center for Literature & Photography "Leaps headfirst into audacious narrative water, sustaining a diversity in storytelling that's indicative of the panoply of ways to love, sin, and write about it, in these our unpredictable, conjoined societies." — Caribbean Beat Magazine "Readers are in for a treat when they open the pages to taste the mélange of literary Caribbean cuisine. Spicy and filling!" — The Gleaner (Jamaica), "Sizzling Books for Summer Reading"

Best New Stories from the Caribbean

Pepperpot

When the infant Jordan Sant is taken to the St Asteria Home for Children after the murder of his parents, he sets out on a journey that is a constant struggle between his best and worst selves. One relationship, with the young nun the children call Mouse, awakens the possibilities of love and hope, but when Mouse abandons her calling and leaves the home, the world thereafter becomes a darker place. When, barely a teenager, he runs away from the home to scuffle for a living in the frightening underbelly of Port of Spain, Jordan reaches the lower depths of both Trinidadian society and himself.

Kevin Jared Hosein

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