The Tyre

By C. J. Dubois and E. C. Huntley

Shortlisted for the People’s Book Prize 2019

When destiny has placed you on the very bottom rung of society, what do you do when you are granted a once-in-a-lifetime chance to escape your fate?

Barely managing to scrape a living gathering wood from the side of a busy road in Tamil Nadu, Ranji accepts his lot uncomplainingly. His one and only concern is to feed his beloved family and keep them safe in their hut beneath the banyan tree. But when a huge new tyre falls from a passing truck, Ranji realises that this could change his life forever, and embarks on a quest to turn his good fortune into cold hard cash.

But his growing obsession causes Ranji to neglect his beautiful wife Meena, who is struggling to resist the advances of the wealthy local brickmaker. And as Ranji’s formerly simple life fills with worries and conflict, he starts to question whether the tyre is in fact a curse rather than a blessing…