The Tiger by the River

Wealthy, content and devoted to his wife Nina, Swati is one of modern Delhi's more blessed inhabitants. His has a comfortable, happy and privileged life. But when his wife and their unborn child are killed in a road accident, his world, his hopes and dreams collapse around him. Devastated, and in mourning, he turns his back on the city and makes the pilgrimage back to his birthplace, the small southern Indian state of Panayur, to honour his beloved and scatter her ashes on the sacred waters of the Papanisi river. Having returned to the isolated, rural world, Swati finds solace in a long lost companion from his youth, Antara, who acts as unofficial caretaker to the decaying palace. Together, they begin to delve into his family history, and the myths and legends that surround it. And so Swati learns that Panayur was once a kingdom, and that he is the direct descendant of the last of its kings. He learns about his many strange and bloodthirsty ancestors, about the first European invaders who came nearly 400 years ago, and he is reminded of the family legend of the tiger by the river... And on the other side of the world, a cousin Swati never knew he had embarks on his own quest to learn something of his past. His pursuit of his inheritance and his destiny, will take him from the USA to Berlin and a tragic family secret, and on to India, Panayur and the novel's powerful, shocking climax. With its singular narrative voice and seductive rhythm, THE TIGER BY THE RIVER is that rare thing: a genuinely spellbinding novel full of drama, mystery and magic, a tale of unbearable loss but also of the redemptive power of love.