The Others

Secrets, lies and love as the DDR collapses.

It is 1989, and in a small Baltic city in East Germany, the Deutsche Demokratische Republik, three young people from vastly different backgrounds become friends. Armando is a factory worker from Mozambique, Lolita is a medical student from India, and Theo is an East Berliner who dreams of being a writer.

When Armando and Lolita make a grisly discovery, they find themselves caught up in the politics of Theo's homeland more than ever before. While a quiet revolution sweeps through Eastern Europe, and the Berlin Wall teeters, the three find themselves entangled in a poignant love triangle which threatens their futures.

As the world order shifts, their three lives are bound together in a web of love, lies and fears, leaving each irrevocably changed.

Praise for Sheena Kalayil:

"An expert novel, The Others is superbly organized, with a steady, tense air of suspense, fine and persuasive emotion, and, above all, truly rich characters alive in a real history. The last pages produced in me a gasp of amazement."

- Jonathan Lethem, Author of 'Motherless Brooklyn', National Book Critics Circle Award winner

'Kalayil's deft prose is both precise and lyrical, vividly conjuring place, time and characters in flux.'

- Joanna Nadin, Sunday Times no 1. bestselling author and Professor of Creative Writing, University of Bristol

'I found it hard to put Sheena Kalayil's fourth novel down, so powerful is the untold story it tells. Yes, The Others is a love story, but it's also magnificently more; I loved the delicate intertwining themes of identity and displacement; setting and historical and political context are incredibly skilfully deployed; but there is also a rare and precious breadth of imagination in the novel. The writing is beautifully confident and flowing, and the characters and their journeys made me cry!'

- Emma Henderson, Author of 'The Valentine House'

Author: Sheena Kalayil
Publisher: Fly on the Wall Press
Published: 06/19/2025
Pages: 332
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.72lbs
Size: 7.81h x 5.06w x 0.74d
ISBN: 9781915789389

About the Author
Kalayil, Sheena: - Sheena Kalayil is a critically acclaimed Manchester-based author and teacher. 'The Others' is Kalayil's fourth novel, continuing her profound examination of untold stories from the crossroads of history and human experience. Her third book, 'The Wild Wind', drew inspiration from her own nomadic upbringing shuttling between India, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Kalayil's debut novel, 'The Bureau of Second Chances', announced her as a major new literary talent, winning the prestigious Writers' Guild Award for Best First Novel and being shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Prize for Fiction with a Sense of Place. With a lifetime of experiences teaching around the world, from Nepal and Mozambique to Tunisia and Venezuela, Kalayil brings a truly global perspective to her writing. Since 2002, she has called the UK home, now teaching at the University of Manchester while penning rich, immersive narratives that transcend borders.