The Village

Nikita Lalwani was born in Rajasthan and raised in Cardiff. Her first novel Gifted was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and won the Desmond Elliott Prize. She lives in London.

Gripping ... Nikita Lalwani's second novel simmers with understated menace Marie Claire Extraordinary... What Nikita is really, really brilliant at is voice and people BBC Radio 2 Lalwani's novel captures the hunger for self-improvement tinged with a pervasive sense of melancholy Sunday Telegraph 'Extraordinary ... Lalwani writes with wonderful clarity and intelligence Times Thoughtfully and often beautifully written, The Village explores postcolonial prejudices and asks what it means to represent something 'real' Observer The Village is a masterclass in compression, zooming in from a wide angle establishing shot to focus on individual lives... The inmates' stories evoke larger questions about justice and privacy, power and powerlessness. Lalwani is also very good at subverting perspective. Gradually, boundaries in this novel between inside and outside shift. The notion of freedom is turned on its head. Guardian A thoughtful novel that envelops us in the oppression and beauty of the rural prison, yet resists simplification and stereotypes. Like the documentary process itself, her novel reveals only fragments of its characters - yet each voice is distinct, believable and stubborn in its refusal to be easily known. Financial Times A disturbing exploration of media ethics ... Sharp and uncompromising, it is a ripsnorting read that leaves us wondering where the needle will be pointing at the moment the moral compass is smashed to pieces ... The dissection elevates The Village from an ordinary travel thriller into Joseph Conrad territory, showing lingering post-colonial prejudices and the catastrophic effect of Westerners going East with a specific mission in mind. The Independent on Sunday Extraordinary... Lalwani writes with wonderful clarity and intelligence -- Kate Saunders Times