A COMPELLINGLY IMAGINED, TIGHT-PACED STORY OF SPIRALLING RUMOURS AND MASS HYSTERIA.

In the foothills of the Western Ghats, the village of Vaiga is enduring the worst storm it has seen in ceaseless rain, fallen trees, flooded river, severe power cuts… But another, more insidious storm is brewing beneath the surface.

It begins as a rumour of an illicit affair—a rumour that brings Saud and his sons to Vaiga in search of Burhan. The rumour soon takes on a life of its own, fuelled by feverish WhatsApp messages. In the ensuing chaos, Vaiga erupts into violence and a mob takes to the street, baying for blood. Tautly written and vividly imagined, Chronicle of an Hour and a Half is an engrossing, unsettling read.

Saharu Nusaiba Kannanari lives in a small town called Areekode, near Calicut, Kerala. This is his first novel.