Brishbhanu Baruah

Something I started thinking about while reading the early chapters of Adam Oyebanji’s novel Esperance was the extent to which this book’s story doesn’t seem like it should work, even when in practice it does. Initially, Esperance frames itself as a very straightforward murder mystery set in contemporary Chicago, with the plot following a detective, Ethan Krol, who is tasked with investigating a bizarre series of killings that seem to defy logical explanation.

On a cold January morning this year, I walked into a building in Islampur – a neighbourhood in Assam’s Guwahati that has been home to Kashmiri merchants or shawl wallahs (as they refer themselves) for the past three months. A few were fresh out of bed while others were having their breakfast – rice, daal and vegetables – the heaviest meal of their day.

On a cold January morning this year, I walked into a building in Islampur – a neighbourhood in Assam's Guwahati that has been home to Kashmiri merchants or shawl wallahs (as they refer themselves) for the past three months. A few were fresh out of bed while others were having their breakfast – rice, daal and vegetables – the heaviest meal of their day.