In this article Night of a Thousand Hells
By Manjeet Ridon, originally published in Conversation
Oct 15, 2026
Read the full article here.
By Manjeet Ridon, originally published in Conversation
Oct 15, 2026
Making the longlist this week for the US National Book Award for translated literature, Intan Paramaditha’s Night of a Thousand Hells is a subversive, shape-shifting novel in which family tragedy becomes political reckoning, horror exposes social violence, and familiar stories turn sinister.
Set in Indonesia, the novel opens in the aftermath of a suicide bombing by a radical group targeting places of worship and community groups. Annisa, a young mother and the youngest of three sisters, is dead, leaving her sisters, Muti and Maya, to confront the question that drives the novel: what led Annisa to get on a motorbike with a bomb strapped to her chest and why did she join this radical group intent on killing innocent men, women and children?
Set in Indonesia, the novel opens in the aftermath of a suicide bombing by a radical group targeting places of worship and community groups. Annisa, a young mother and the youngest of three sisters, is dead, leaving her sisters, Muti and Maya, to confront the question that drives the novel: what led Annisa to get on a motorbike with a bomb strapped to her chest and why did she join this radical group intent on killing innocent men, women and children?
Read the full article here.
Wan-Paang Sam / Alamy
