The Seahorse

Janis Parijat is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories, for which she received the national «Crossword» award and the status of "Young Writer of the Year" from the Sahitya Academy. A specialist in world culture and literature, she studied writing craft at the University of Kent, English literature at the University of New Delhi, and art history at the School of Oriental Studies in London. Neemiya is from a provincial Indian city. Her parents send him to a capital university and effectively forbid him to return home after the scandal involving his friend Lenny. Now Lenny is locked in a psychiatric clinic, and Neemiya is locked in his own mind. His days are filled with lectures, student parties, and reflections on art. But meeting Nicholas, an art historian who everyone at the university talks about, changes everything. Over the following years Neemiya spends time between Delhi and London, trying to heal from the loss, from the ghosts of love, and from memories of an imperfect youth. "Janis Parijat’s debut novel is a searing plot and linguistic perfection. Reflections on art, love, and sexuality—with complete immersion and passion". — The Sunday Guardian. "A well thought-out look at homophobia and human relationships". — Kirkus Reviews. "This book is about a journey. Both outward and inward". — Scroll.in. "We are shaped by absence. Places we didn’t visit, choices we didn’t make, people we lost. It’s like the spaces between bars of a cage that we cross from year to year". "My parents sent me to Delhi. They decided it would be better. They’d heard about a good local college based on healthy Christian principles—where people like me, who came from places far from the capital, considered troubled and marginal, could study. They sent me away. They delivered me to Nicholas on a tray."