HARPERCOLLINS PRESENTS TARUN J TEJPAL’S NOVEL THE LINE OF MERCY

New Delhi, 4 March 2022

announces the publication of

THE LINE OF MERCY

A NOVEL

by Tarun J Tejpal

In the country of the damned do the birds sing? Does laughter ring? Do creepers of lush stories decorate crumbling ruins? Does the rain fall? How deep run the caverns of justice and injustice? How dark? Does any fire burn there, of warmth and of illumination? What is the flotsam of humanity that finds itself swept into this murky slipstream? Is there an unacknowledged symphony in sin? Can the sinner be beautiful? Are redemption and mercy the two greatest impulses known to humankind?

In the thick air of a coastal town, inside the iron bars manufactured by the laws of men, life explodes with tropical ferocity. Inferno, purgatorio, paradiso, and limbo – always limbo – come together in a frantic soup of sadness and madness. More truths and revelations are laid bare than can be claimed by any courtroom or church.

In his new novel, Tarun J Tejpal takes the darkest of human material and unearths in it the unstoppable surge of the human spirit. Writing in his inimitable tragicomic style he creates a spellbinding world of extraordinary characters and stories never encountered before.

The Line of Mercy is an epic – and utterly original – addition to the universal literature of crime and punishment.

Speaking about the book, Udayan Mitra, Executive Publisher, HarperCollins India said, ‘We are excited to be publishing internationally acclaimed author Tarun J Tejpal’s new novel, The Line of Mercy. Tarun’s book is an ambitious work of fiction, a many-layered, multi-faceted, evocative exploration of the human condition, written in sharp, chiselled prose. We hope it will reach a wide readership.’

Advance Praise

‘The Line of Mercy is undoubtedly Tarun J Tejpal’s most accomplished work. As ferocious as it is ambitious. The writing is both muscular and seductive. The characters sweep you into the darkest passages of crime and brutality. It’s a noir novel that demands attention.’ – Shobhaa De

‘Tarun J Tejpal’s earlier work, The Story of my Assassins, has been a long-standing favourite for the way it had the pulse of this mad nation. In his new work, he outdoes himself – diving into humanity’s darkest heart, surfacing with more mojo per page than most writers manage in a tome. There are no petty axes to grind in The Line of Mercy. This is a book as a cosmic dancer – light step and chortle, the eye of Shiv-Sauron.’ – Amruta Patil

Author Bio

Tarun J Tejpal is the founder of Tehelka, IndiaInk and Think; and the author of three novels, which have been published worldwide to critical acclaim. He is married, and has two daughters who work in cinema and in conservation.

About HarperCollins Publishers India

HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India has been awarded the Publisher of the Year Award four times: at Tata Literature Live! in 2021, 2018 and 2016 and at Publishing Next in 2015. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

Please send any enquires to Akriti Tyagi, HarperCollins India: Akriti.Tyagi@harpercollins.co.in