Uprising
Published by: Canongate Books
An earth-shattering drama of resistance and female power, giving voice to the silenced through the story of a revolution no one saw coming.
On a desolate, sinking island, a group of children witness their mothers living lives of cruelty and servitude.
Bought and sold by Amma, the sadistic madam who was once herself sold into slavery, the women have learned to accept their fate. Yet their children weave fantastic tales of escape, imagining that someday they will leave the island and enjoy a life of freedom.
When Kusum Khan, a young, educated woman from the city, is forcibly brought to the island, she too is subjected to Amma’s violent induction. Yet Kusum refuses to yield, and soon the collective complacency of her fellow prisoners turns into ferocity and defiance. Together, they begin a rebellion that will upend their island, their world and the very order of things.
Read an extract from the book here.
Our judges said:
Dark, intense and powerful, this is a heart-breaking story of women and children enslaved on a small island. Uprising presents us with several women's trajectories as they are abducted or coerced into believing they were escaping poverty, only to be become prisoners and sex workers. When a newcomer opens the door for these women and their island-born children, will they find the means to defy the caste system, child abuse and gender hierarchies? Uprising will leave you breathless."
