Loot

Most years there will be a book where the industry buzz arrives long before the physical copies. A question that hovers in the liminal space between the first rumour of a new publishing sensation and the delivery of the book into readers’ hands is, will this one live up to the hype? In the case of the much-anticipated Loot, the latest novel from Tania James, the many ringing endorsements from authors and critics alike would suggest the answer is yes.

In this vivid tale, Abbas is 17 when he is summoned from his father’s workshop to Tipu Sultan’s palace in Mysore. Unexpectedly apprenticed to the renowned French clockmaker Lucien Du Leze, the pair are charged with bringing to fruition Tipu Sultan’s desire for a large piece of vengeful artistic whimsy: a wooden tiger that will mechanically and musically maul a fallen wooden British soldier. It will be a gift for several of Tipu’s sons, who have recently returned (with an unacceptable appetite for trifle) from an extended period as British hostages. And so begins Abbas’s exploration of the first of many unfamiliar new worlds and relationships.

Loot combines the best elements of poetry and epic adventures. To be clear, in form it is nothing like an epic poem, however James deploys her prose with the devastating precision of a poet as she unfurls this brilliant and original historical saga, effortlessly lacing the narrative with incisive observations on colonialism and 18th and 19th century geopolitics. If you are looking for an exquisitely written novel that takes a thread of real history and weaves it into a mesmerising, no-stitch-out-of-place, castle-wall-size tapestry with all the drama (and death) of a Greek myth, look no further. If it so happens that you were not looking for such a book, consider reading it anyway for the wit and knee- slicing social commentary.