The Wildings
by Nilanjana Roy
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Pub Date 14 Jul 2016 | Archive Date 24 Aug 2016
Pushkin Press | Pushkin Children's
Description
A small band of cats lives in the labyrinthine alleys and ruins of Nizamuddin, an old neighbourhood in Delhi. Miao, the clan elder, a wise, grave Siamese; Katar, a cat loved by his followers and feared by his enemies; Hulo, the great warrior tom; Beraal, the beautiful queen, swift and deadly when challenged; Southpaw, the kitten whose curiosity can always be counted on to get him into trouble…
Unfettered and wild, these and the other members of the tribe fear no one, go where they will, and do as they please. Until, one day, a terrified orange-coloured kitten with monsoon green eyes and remarkable powers lands in their midst—setting off a series of extraordinary events that will change their world for ever.Winner of the Shakti Bhatt First Book Award
Shortlisted for the Commonwealth Book Prize and the Tata First Book Award
A Note From the Publisher
Nilanjana Roy spent most of her adult life writing about humans before realizing that animals were much more fun; The Wildings is her first novel. She writes a regular column for the Business Standard and the International Herald Tribune, and some of her stories for children have been published in Scholastic’s Spooky Stories, Science Fiction Stories and Be Witched. She lives in Delhi with two cats and her husband.
Advance Praise
A vivid read - The Times of India
A few pages into Nilanjana Roy's The Wildings, you'll wish you had whiskers and could mew... a page turner and a charming read - DNA India
Available Editions
| EDITION | Paperback |
| ISBN | 9781782691051 |
| PRICE | £7.99 (GBP) |
Links
Featured Reviews
Emma R, Reviewer
The Wildings By Nilanjana Roy
This was was a book that attracted me from the very start.
Full disclosure : I read an ARC kindly given by Pushkin Press, a publisher that specialises in stories from overseas for children and Young Adults.The cover is arresting and the premise intriguing.
Set in a cityscape in India it was bound to beguile me! Here we behold Fakirs, birds of prey, Tigers,Monkeys and of course the heroes of the piece ,the cats!
The idea of all creatures being connected, but most particularly cats is so attractive.
This is really the story of two kittens trying to create a place for themselves within the hierarchy of the Wildling cats who live in the parks, cemeteries and under bridges by the River.
They are not feral cats(as they love to stress), but free; not curtailed by an indoor life with humans or Bigfeet.
Mara is an Orphan, her mother lost in a fight with Dogs, her powers as a “Sender” ( a kind of mystical security system and telepathic telegraph ) are untapped and unguarded much to the chagrin and despair of all the cats and other creatures in the locality.
Southpaw is a mischievous little kitten whose ability to get into scrapes and danger is prestigious.
Both little Cats are closely supervised, mentored and protected by older cats who are adamant that their way of life be protected and that neither kitten become imprisoned by domesticity or warped into the feral lifestyle that is an ominous threat emanating from the dark dank, evil place they call the Shuttered House.
When the precarious status quo is unbalanced and the Feral cats enter the Wildling Territory their world is tipped into chaos.
Some very deep themes are explored here about the value of Friendship, the pain for parents as children grow up and away, all wrapped in a story that couples the truth of the ferocity of the natural order with the morality of a “merciful killing”
This is not fluffy stuff or childlike in the least, it is mythical and in the best traditions of myths and legends, it has a edge that modern tales for children often lack and the violence and menace in parts is not , I would suggest for small children.
I enjoyed the book immensely as an adult and think older children in the 10 to 14 age bracket are best suited as it’s core audience. Parental supervision might be advised for younger readers, but it will definitely prompt some youthful discussion.
Fans of the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques and the seminal Watership Down will get immense pleasure from this story and I wholeheartedly long to read the next instalment, The deliciously titled:
The Hundred Names of Darkness..
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