Hangdog Souls
Hangdog Souls by Marc Joan, published by Deixis Press in 2022, is a literary work that intertwines fiction and horror within the historical context of the Kingdom of Mysore in 1799. The narrative follows a British Army deserter grappling with guilt as he attempts to secure safety for his loved ones, only to find himself ensnared in a cycle of death and despair that spans centuries. The story shifts to a Keralan astrophysicist in the twenty-first century, who faces his own burdens of grief while confronting the consequences of a Faustian bargain made long ago.
Readers will encounter a rich tapestry of linked narratives that explore themes of guilt, shame, and the quest for absolution. The book traverses diverse landscapes, from the arid Tamil plains to the Nilgiris’ peaks, and delves into the occult horrors of Tipu Sultan’s reign alongside the complexities of modern particle physics. Through its exploration of multiple characters and their intertwined fates, Hangdog Souls poses profound questions about the moral weight of innocence lost, inviting readers to reflect on the nature of life and death across generations. This edition comprises 358 pages and is presented in English.
Official synopsis Publisher
Kingdom of Mysore, 1799. A guilt-racked British Army deserter tries to win safety for those he loves – but his reckless bargaining only leaves him trapped between destinies, condemned to facilitate centuries of suicide and murder. Death after death, each death diminishes him, until – a quarter of a millennium later – a Keralan astrophysicist has the chance to annul the soldier’s Faustian bargain. But Chandy John is weakened by his own burden of grief. Will this twenty-first century scientist become just another helpless nexus between undeserved death and undeserved life?
Hangdog Souls is set in the Dravidian heartlands of South India – and in a blurred edgeland where alternative realities elide. Through linked narratives of guilt, shame and the search for absolution, this book takes readers from the arid Tamil plains to the highest peaks of the Nilgiris, and from occult horrors in Tipu Sultan’s kingdom to creeping madness in the world of particle physics.
Spanning three hundred years, the stories in Hangdog Souls weave together the fates and fortunes of multiple characters – individuals that echo through the generations, asking always the same question: What weight can balance the death of an innocent?
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