City of Good Death

In the debut novel The City of Good Death, Priyanka Champaneris explores the holy city of Banaras, India, where the manager of a death hostel tends to dying Hindu pilgrims seeking release from earthly reincarnation. When a man resembling Pramesh's cousin Sagar is pulled from the river, Pramesh is forced to confront his own ideas about death, rebirth, and redemption. The book is a rich exploration of family and love, memory and ritual, and the ways in which we honor the living and the dead.

Format: Hardback
Length: 448 pages
Publication date: 11 March 2021
Publisher: Regan Arts

Winner of the Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing, Priyanka Champaneris' transcendent debut novel takes us deep into the holy city of Banaras, India, where the manager of a death hostel guides the dying who seek the release of a good death. However, his own past refuses to let him go.

As the devoted manager of a death hostel in Banaras, Pramesh Prasad tends to dying Hindu pilgrims who yearn for liberation from earthly reincarnation. He leads a contented life alongside his wife, Shobha, their young daughter, Rani, the hostel priests, his loyal assistant Mohan, and the steady stream of families with their dying kin. However, one day, the past manifests itself in the form of a body retrieved from the river—a man who bears an uncanny resemblance to Pramesh.

Known as "twins" in their childhood village, Pramesh and his cousin Sagar were inseparable until Pramesh left to explore the outside world, leaving Sagar to manage the land. After marrying Shobha, defying his family's wishes, a rift forms between the cousins, which Pramesh has purposefully tried to forget. Yet, for Shobha, Sagar's reappearance casts a dark shadow over the life she has built for her family.

Uninvited, an unwelcome guest takes up residence in the death hostel, and the dying continue to defy the natural order of things. Pramesh is compelled to confront his own beliefs about death, rebirth, and redemption.

The City of Good Death is a remarkable debut novel that explores family, love, memory, and ritual. It delves into the ways in which we honor the living and the dead with vivid detail and an unforgettable cast of characters.

Dimension: 234 x 159 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781632062529