Island

by Sujit Saraf

English 256 pages 2 editions

THE WINNER OF THE GODREJ LIT LIVE! FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR ‘A captivating exploration of isolation, ambition and the collision between modernity and indigenous life.’— The Tribune ‘ Island is wonderful for its ability to wrestle with an idea—what is lost when our primary idea of belonging is based on reciprocity?—but is a triumph for the emotional volume it packs.’— Scroll.in Nirmal Chandra Mattoo has lived in Port Blair, in the Andamans, for thirty years. An acknowledged expert on the tribes of the islands, particularly the Jarawas and the Sentinelese, he now runs a souvenir shop selling fake tribal artifacts to unsuspecting tourists. In the shop, he hides dark secrets and a long history with the people of the islands. One day, an American missionary appears in Mattoo’s shop and seeks his help to visit North Sentinel Island, where he hopes to bring the Sentinelese tribals to Jesus. Mattoo agrees, but also has deep misgivings, because the Sentinelese are among the last uncontacted people on earth; their stone-age civilization has survived in complete isolation for thousands of years, and their hostility has made their island a zone forbidden to outsiders. Undeterred, the missionary sets off on his mission, and Mattoo, as his guide, finds himself embroiled in a situation from which there can be no escape, as the fate of the Sentinelese, his own fate, and that of the Indian State all come together in a catastrophic denouement. Island is a searing examination of nationhood, citizenship, the lot of those who live on the margins, and what it means to be Indian today.