Huthuka Sumi debuts with ‘Giants’ novel

DIMAPUR — HarperCollins has announced the release of “Giants”, a debut novel by Huthuka Sumi that melds Naga folklore with fantasy in what the publisher calls a “truly giant” first outing.

According to a press release from the publisher, the book follows the journey of Kato, a boy who cannot speak.

“Between a mother who dotes on him, a friend who is unwaveringly loyal, and plenty of stories, there is little else that Kato appears to need. But what Kato wants more than anything is to be like everyone else. To be able to talk.

“When a fabled Old One, Kene the giant, comes to him looking for a storyteller, Kato is sure that a mistake has been made. Over the course of the next year, Kato must find out for himself what having a voice really means because the world he knows and the people in it are about to be changed forever,” the release read.

The release stated that written in lyrical prose blending magic realism with a deep understanding of human nature, “Giants” is a startling debut about the stories told and those that shape individuals.

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According to the author, the novel came to be when the folktales from childhood gained consciousness through the words of Tolkien, Toni Morrison, Khaled Hosseini, Orhan Pamuk, Ayako Miura, the Bible, and many others.

He said that the stories he grew up with became clothed with the flesh of self-awareness, and before he knew it, they insisted that they be told—not as he had heard them, but as he lived them.

Aparna Kapur, senior consultant editor at HarperCollins, described Huthuka’s writing as “wholly original” and stated that he writes with tenderness about self-doubt, conflict, friendship, and loss. She added that the magic of ”Giants” lies in the clear-eyed and open-hearted descriptions of the everyday—lazy afternoons, welcoming rivers, petty arguments, farming songs, cosy kitchens, and, of course, all the irresistible food.

According to Tina Narang, executive publisher at HarperCollins, the title could not have been more apt.