When I Hit You: Or, a Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2018
SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2018
A BEST BOOK OF 2017
Financial Times
The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph
The Observer
"Meena Kandasamy's vivid, sharp and precise writing makes a triumph of When I Hit You."--The Guardian
Set in modern India, the unnamed narrator falls in love with a university professor and agrees to be his wife. Based on the author's own experience of marriage, soon the newly-wed experiences extreme violence at her husband's hands and finds herself socially isolated. Intellectual and physical cruelty is explored. Yet hope keeps her alive. Writing becomes her salvation, a supreme act of defiance and, as the subtitle suggests, the novel is also about the act of writing itself and the way that fiction and stories can help you escape.
Though a harrowing story, Kandasamy's writing is also funny, tender, and lyrical. When I Hit You is smart, fierce, and courageous.Earn by promoting books
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Meena Kandasamy is a poet, fiction writer, translator, and activist who lives in Chennai and London. She has published two collections of poetry, Touch and Ms. Militancy, and the critically acclaimed novel, The Gypsy Goddess. This is her second novel.
"Kandasamy's thoughtful deep dive into the nature of abuse and its effects is a call-to-action to believe and support all women."--Booklist (Starred review)
"Explosive"--The Guardian
"Urgent"--Financial Times
"Courageous and brave and disturbing and will stay with you for a long time"--Stylist
"Fierce and unforgettable"--Culturefly
"Brilliant . . . Astonishing . . . By far the best read of the year"--Women Writers
