Aleyamma, a tormented young artist, arrives at a bungalow in Puthuloor that she inherited from her late grandfather, Eesho. The manor on top of the hill—a remnant of British colonization—bears scars of violence. Locals murmur of gruesome murders that have stained its past and ghosts that lurk in its corners.

Decades ago, when young Eesho had first arrived at the bungalow as the supervisor of the rubber plantation, along with his wife and their faithful dog, life had seemed blissful. But beneath the quiet, unrest simmered as estate workers banded together against the owners, and whispers of a rising radical-left Naxalite movement grew louder. As the turmoil escalated, it threatened to sweep away everything that Eesho held dear.

Now, even as Aleyamma is consumed with grief over the loss of her grandfather, the dark history of her inheritance makes its presence known. Estranged from her Syrian Christian family, Aleyamma sets out to untangle the knots of the past. What stories will she uncover? Will she be able to draw strength from them to confront the present?

Set in the verdant rubber plantations of Kerala, The Remnants of Rebellion is an enthralling debut novel by Ponnu Elizabeth Mathew that spans three generations. It is a story of rebellions—both personal and political—and of people caught in the aftermath of colonization.