The Hundred Names of Darkness

"A delight to read. Eliot's Old Possum would have enjoyed these Practical Indian Cats." Salman Rushdie


In the sequel and conclusion to her critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling novel, The Wildings, Nilanjana Roy takes us back to the Delhi neighbourhood of Nizamuddin, and its unforgettable cats--Mara, Southpaw, Katar, Hulo and Beraal. As they recover slowly from their terrible battle with the feral cats, they find their beloved locality changing around them. Winter brings an army of predators--humans, vicious dogs, snakes, bandicoots--along with the cold and a scarcity of food...Unless Mara can help them find a safe haven, their small band will be wiped out forever. With the assistance of a motley group of friends including Doginder, a friendly stray; Hatch, a cheel who is afraid of the sky; Thomas Mor, an affable peacock; Jethro Tail, the mouse who roared; and the legendary Senders of Delhi, Mara and her band set out on an epic journey to find a place where they can live free from danger.

NILANJANA ROY spent most of her adult life writing about humans before realizing that animals were much more fun. The Wildings and The Hundred Names of Darkness are her first novels. She writes a regular column for the Business Standard and the International Herald Tribune, and her fiction and journalism have appeared in several journals and anthologies, including The Caravan, Civil Lines 6, Guernica, the New York Times' India blog, Outlook and Biblio. Some of her stories for children have been published in Scholastic's Spooky Stories, Science Fiction Stories and Be Witched. She is the editor of A Matter of Taste: The Penguin Book of Indian Writing on Food. She lives in Delhi with two cats and her husband. The author lives in Delhi, India.