About The Thing About Thugs
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (July 24, 2012)
A subversive, macabre novel of a young Indian man’s misadventures in Victorian London as the city is racked by a series of murders
In a small Bihari village, Captain William T. Meadows finds just the man to further his phrenological research back home: Amir Ali, confessed member of the infamous Thugee cult. With tales of a murderous youth redeemed, Ali gains passage to England, his villainously shaped skull there to be studied. Only Ali knows just how embroidered his story is, so when a killer begins depriving London’s underclass of their heads, suspicion naturally falls on the “thug.” With help from fellow immigrants led by a shrewd Punjabi woman, Ali journeys deep into a hostile city in an attempt to save himself and end the gruesome murders.
Ranging from skull-lined mansions to underground tunnels a ghostly people call home, The Thing about Thugs is a feat of imagination to rival Wilkie Collins or Michael Chabon. Short-listed for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize, this sly Victorian role reversal marks the arrival of a compelling new Indian novelist to North America.
“A complex, thoughtful novel…Khair takes two large, mainly invisible cultural narratives…and blends them in powerful and enlightening ways…A fascinating and emotionally moving novel for fans of literary fiction.” — Library Journal
“Authentic and deeply thought-provoking. Readers who enjoy Collins and Dickens will recognize their influence on Khair and revel in his creation.” — Booklist, STARRED
About Tabish Khair
Tabish Khair is an award-winning poet, journalist, critic, educator and novelist. A citizen of India, he lives in Denmark and teaches literature at Aarhus University.
Visit Tabish at his website.
Tabish’s Tour Stops
Tuesday, July 24th: Bibliophiliac
Wednesday, July 25th: Dwell in Possibility
Thursday, July 26th: missris
Monday, July 30th: A Reader of Fictions
Tuesday, July 31st: A Book Geek
Wednesday, August 1st: Don’t Mind the Mess
Thursday, August 2nd: Book Dilettante
Tuesday, August 7th: Bibliosue
Thursday, August 9th: No More Grumpy Bookseller
Thursday, August 16th: Confessions of an Avid Reader
Friday, August 17th: Book Addict Katie
Friday, August 24th: Lance Mannion