‘Hot Water’: Bhavika Govil’s debut novel movingly constructs a child’s fragile yet resilient world

I was introduced to Bhavika Govil’s fiction in 2022 through the short story “Eggs Keep Falling from the Fourth Floor” in A Case of Indian Marvels: Dazzling Stories from the Country’s Finest New Writers (published by Aleph Book Company). Back then, I had called it a “marvellous portrait of a deeply disturbed brain that forces the reader to confront the stigmas attached to mental health in our society.” It indeed was. I was thoroughly impressed by what I had read and Govil’s sensitive treatment of her protagonist, who is of unsound mind and often misunderstood.

A year later, I met Govil at the Jaipur Literature Festival, where at a party, she told me about her debut novel. Her manuscript had been accepted by the publisher and she already had a title for the book: Hot Water. It would be out in two years, and Govil was already excited about it. I promised to read…and write about it.

I’m glad I kept my promise.

A world of three

There are moments in Hot Water when the air feels too stuffy to breathe. Your skin feels sticky, and the saltiness of sweat fills your mouth. It feels like a painful, oppressive summer – not good news to those of us who live in India. Govil tackles this kind...

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