Night of a Thousand Hells - by Intan Paramaditha (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2026 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE

"An unforgiving tale of political horror and womanhood by a writer that is fearless."--Mariana Enriquez, author of Our Share of Night

A propulsive work of feminist gothic that blends Indonesian folklore with Islamic mysticism and examines the tension between freedom and responsibility, violence and care, familial obligation and the limits of sisterhood

Night of the Thousand Hells is the story of three sisters: the caretaker, the traveler, and the bride. Mutiara and Maya find their lives irrevocably altered when their younger sister, Annisa, straps a bomb to her chest and commits a devastating act of violence. What led Annisa to such an abominable act? As her surviving sisters grapple with grief, guilt, and unanswered questions, their search leads them to long-concealed secrets, forsaken family bonds, and the unsettling prophecies of their grandmother, whose enigmatic wisdom has shaped the destinies of women across generations.

Intan Paramaditha is an international literary sensation whose Night of a Thousand Hells is an urgent, haunting, and subversive blend of mysticism, horror, domestic drama, and social novel that defies genres and expectations.

Review Quotes

"Paramaditha writes effortlessly across genres, blending dysfunctional family epic, haunting folklore and horror, with themes of suffocating traditions, pervasive gender inequity, and LGBTQ+ discrimination and identities... Provocative, chilling."--Shelf Awareness

"Paramaditha's sweeping prose forms an artful narrative of female agency, class division, sisterhood, and the politics of care... Grounded in Indonesian folklore and Islamic mysticism, the novel is a gripping blend of spiritual resonance and feminist critique."--Booklist

"A moving exploration of how people face the unthinkable."--Foreword Reviews

"Night of a Thousand Hells is a rollercoaster of a book. Breathtaking and startling, with plenty of twists along the way, it will set your pulse and mind racing. Its narrators' voices are fresh and defiant, but its humanity is universal. An urgent interrogation of family, faith and freedom."--Ann Morgan, author of The World Between Two Covers

"Night of a Thousand Hells is written from the heart; as moving and immersive as it is stylish and important--a story of women trying to survive, propelled by the equal forces of rage and love, all set against a brilliantly realised world of myths, faith and devastating politics. Spellbinding."--Preti Taneja, author of We That Are Young and Aftermath

"Through the story of these three sisters, readers are invited to reexamine the meaning of family, sibling relationships, power dynamics, and the dominant class in social structures, particularly in how they contribute to a culture of violence. Unlike Intan's previous works, Sihir Perempuan (The Wandering) and Gentayangan (The Wandering), the horror in Malam Seribu Jahanam is presented more subtly and manages to evoke a deep sense of unease."--IDN Times (Indonesia)

"Intan Paramaditha emphasizes the crucial role of literature in politics as a vehicle for reflecting on the meaning of justice."--Tempo (Indonesia)

"For Intan Paramaditha, horror is not merely a tool to scare. It is a medium for critique. In Intan's hands, horror becomes a way to disrupt what has long been accepted as normal."--Magdalene (Indonesia)

Praise for Intan Paramaditha

"Like Indonesian cosmopolitanism itself, Paramaditha also has a striking talent for weaving meaning out of heterogeneous cultural strands and, as you wander, you'll take in the rich symbolism of tales from the Ramayana to Britpop, and hear Hecate quote the Koran." --Sydney Review of Books on The Wandering

"With its choose-your-own adventure structure, The Wandering is fiction at its most lifelike, presenting the reader with choices and inevitable misgivings."--The Guardian on The Wandering

"It draws on magic realism, fairy tales, and folklore to tell a dark, often disturbing story of migration, displacement, and how crossing borders is very often a privilege."--Tatler Asia on The Wandering

"If Edgar Allan Poe's macabre had a child with Shirley Jackson's horror, this Indonesian anthology of short stories would be it."--Buzzfeed on Apple and Knife

"Inspired by myths and folklore, this fantastical collection of short stories by Indonesian author Intan Paramaditha explores the politicisation of the female body, offering up subversive feminist horror stories with poignant commentary in an intoxicatingly fresh manner."--Vogue Australia on Apple and Knife

"Intan Paramaditha's English-language debut collection, Apple and Knife, consists of short stories...[that] bend and blend genres, and bristle with feminist rage and resistance."--Sydney Morning Herald on Apple and Knife

"Its intensely personal short stories will leave you with bite marks and bruises."--Seattle Times on Apple and Knife