• ISBN13: 9780857424396
• Binding: Paperback
• Subject: English Literature
• Publisher: Seagull Books
• Publisher Imprint: Seagull
• Publication Date: May 13, 2019
• Pages: 208
• Original Price: INR 599.0
• Language: English
• Edition: N/A
• Item Weight: 590 grams
• BISAC Subject(s): Literary

It’s the mid-to-late 1800s and the British have banished Wajid Ali shah—the Nawab of Awadhi in Lucknow Calcutta. To the sound of the soulful melody of the sarangi, the mercurial courtesan laayl-e br>aasman is playing a dangerous game of love, loyalty, deception and betrayal. Bajrangi and kundan, bound by their love for each other and for laayl-e, struggle to keep their balance. Ranging across generations and Geography, The scale of laayl-e’s story sweeps the devil, a crime Lord and many other remarkable characters into a heady mix. Mirror of the darkest night is almost an aberration in Mahasweta Devi’s oeuvre. Known for her activism and hard-hitting indictment of social inequalities, she pays close attention to detail in this sparkling novel. It offers a rare glimpse of Devi’s talent for telling the sort of story she normally eschewed—and it’s a Cracker of a tale.

Mahasweta Devi (1926-2016) was a writer and social activist. She is the author of numerous plays, essays, novels, and short stories. Shamya Dasgupta is a sports journalist and senior editor at Wisden India. He is the author of two books, Bhiwani Junction: The Untold Story of Boxing in India and Cricket Changed My Life: Stories of Hope and Despair from the IPL and Elsewhere. He lives in Bangalore, India.