Night of a Thousand Hells: A Novel (National Book Award Finalist)

FINALIST 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 a 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.

Stephen Epstein serves as both the Director of the Asian Studies Institute and a member of the Classics Programme at the Victoria University of Wellington in Wellington, New Zealand. Among his latest publications are articles on the ancient Greek novel, translations of Korean and Indonesian fiction, including Intan Paramaditha's Apple and Knife, and an analysis of contemporary short stories in North Korea.

Tiffany Tsao is a writer and literary translator. She has translated five books from Indonesian into English. For her translation of Budi Darma's People from Bloomington, she was awarded the 2023 PEN Translation Prize and the 2023 NSW Premier's Translation Prize. Her translation of Norman Erikson Pasaribu's Happy Stories, Mostly was longlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize and awarded the 2022 Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses.