About the Book

HISTORY AND MYTH, MYSTERY AND LONGING, AND THE VERY REAL RAVAGES OF CIVIL WAR COME TOGETHER IN SHARANYA MANIVANNAN’S DEBUT AS A GRAPHIC NOVELIST TO TELL A STIRRING TALE.

On full moon nights, from deep within the lagoons of Mattakalappu, Ilankai, mysterious sounds emerge. During the three decades of civil war, it is said, those sounds had ceased. The mermaid Ila, who has lived in those waters for a long, long time, speaks and sings about her world (and the worlds of mermaids everywhere). Her stories weave together cultural history, eco-consciousness, political reality and personal longing—and always, the magical.

About the Author

Sharanya Manivannan writes and illustrates fiction, poetry, children’s literature and non-fiction. Her books include The High Priestess Never Marries, which received a South Asia Laadli Award, and The Queen of Jasmine Country, which was shortlisted for the Hindu Prize and longlisted for the JCB Prize. Incantations Over Water is part of a duology on Ila of the Kallady lagoon, and is accompanied by a picture book for children, Mermaids in the Moonlight.