she said at the festival. She also explained that the book is, at its core, about time: her literary goal was to compress it so that three women who never met could share the same space on the page.

How has migration shaped her writing?

Born in Mauritius into a family of Indian immigrants who later settled in France, Appanah spoke about how displacement defines both her life and her prose. Growing up in a multilingual household — with the language of school, the language of the heart, the language of the neighbourhood — she came to believe that no language is superior to another. Her grandparents were born and lived on a sugar-cane plantation during the colonial era and spoke an Indian language, her mother tongue. Her parents were educated and urbanised, and she felt she lived on a thread stretched between a past she had never known and a present shaped by the stories her grandmother told.

Why does this matter for readers in Brazil?

Appanah's work sits at the intersection of migration, gender-based violence and postcolonial identity — themes that resonate deeply in Brazil. Her presence at Flip signals the festival's commitment to amplifying voices from the Global South and the diaspora.

Key Facts:
  • Appanah appeared on Flip's main programme on Friday, July 25.
  • Noite no coração is published by Bazar do Tempo in Brazil.
  • The novel has been translated into more than 15 countries.
  • Two of the three real-life characters in the book were killed by their partners.
  • Appanah was born in Mauritius to an Indian immigrant family and lives in France.
  • Flip 2025 is its 24th edition.