Faber nabs Persaud’s literary novel based on Trinidadian gangster Singh

Faber has nabbed multi-award-winning Ingrid Persaud’s second novel, The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh.

The book is a work of literary fiction, inspired by the life of Trinidadian gangster Boysie Singh, by the author of Love After Love (Faber), which won the 2020 Costa First Novel Award.

Associate publisher Louisa Joyner acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, including audio, from Zoë Waldie at RCW, and the book will be published in April 2024

"Four lives, connected and controlled by one man: the notorious, charismatic gangster Boysie Singh," the synopsis says. "With this superlative feat of literary imagination, Ingrid Persaud establishes once again her mastery of voice and her technical brilliance, all wrapped up and delivered to the reader in irresistibly engaging storytelling."

Persaud commented: "I’ve wanted to write this book for some time. The Boysie Singh myth has loomed over a whole society but it’s always been one-sided. In The Lost Love Songs of Boysie Singh I try to rebalance the narrative by focusing on the women in his life."

Joyner added: "This new novel from one of the most exciting voices in contemporary fiction will delight Persaud fans and awe new readers. It moves, enthrals, devastates and offers hope through the circumscribed lives of four incredible female characters, all with a lightness of touch and sparkling wit that allows her incredibly dark and powerful subject matter to defy gravity."