Both a heartbreaking and heart-warming story Melody Razak's debut transports the reader into
the home of a Brahmin family in 1940s Delhi. . . . The character portrayal is so intricate that
as the plot twists and turns you'll truly care what happens to them.-The Independent (UK) A
Millions Most Anticipated Book of 2022 - An Oprah Daily Most Anticipated Historical Fiction
Novel of 2022 - A Betches Summer Pick Melody Razak makes her literary debut with this
internationally-acclaimed saga of one Indian family's trials through the tumultuous
partition-the 1947 split of Pakistan from India-exploring its impact on women what it means to
be othered in one's own society and the redemptive power of family. Delhi 1946.
Fourteen-year-old Alma is soon to be married despite her parents' fear that she is far too
young. But times are perilous in India where the country's long-awaited independence from the
British empire heralds a new era of hope-and danger. In its wake political unrest ripples
across the subcontinent marked by violent confrontations between Hindus and Muslims. The
conflict threatens to unravel the rich tapestry of Delhi-a city where different cultures
religions and traditions have co-existed for centuries. The solution is partition which will
create a new wholly Muslim sovereign nation-Pakistan-carved from India's northwestern
shoulder. Given the uncertain times Alma's parents intellectuals who teach at the local
university pray that marriage will provide Alma with stability and safety. Alma is precocious
and headstrong and her excitement over the wedding rivals only her joy in spinning wild
stories about evil spirits for her younger sister Roop. But when Alma's grandmother-a woman
determined to protect the family's honor no matter the cost-interferes with the engagement her
meddling sets off a chain of events that will wrench the family apart forcing its members to
find new and increasingly desperate ways to survive in the wake of partition. Set during the
most tumultuous years in modern Indian history Melody Razak recreates the painful turmoil of a
rupturing nation and its reverberations across the fates of a single family. Powerfully
evocative and atmospheric Moth is a testament to survival and a celebration of the beauty and
resilience of the human spirit.
