Boats on Land is a unique way of looking at India’s northeast against a larger
historical canvas—the early days of the British Raj, the World Wars, the
missionaries and conversions to Christianity.
This is a world in which the everyday is infused with folklore and an unshakeable
belief in the supernatural. Here, a girl dreams of being a firebird. An artist watches
souls turn into trees. A man shape-shifts into a tiger. Another is bewitched by
water fairies. Political struggles and social unrest interweave with fireside tales and
age-old superstitions.
Winner of the Sahitya Academy Yuva Puraskar Award, Janice Pariat quietly
captures our fragile and awkward place in the world.
