GO ON A JOURNEY
The Light Language
The Night Language tells the story of a young man, Prince Alamayou of Abyssinia (present day Ethiopia), who is taken from his home and the Abyssinian war to the court of Queen Victoria—a world he knows nothing about.
With him is Philip Layard, a young apprentice to one of the doctors on the battlefield in Abyssinia, who becomes Alamayou’s guardian, only friend, and eventually, the love of his life. When Parliament accuses Alamayou of murder, the young prince is sentenced to return to Abyssinia, where he will be executed.
His only hope comes from the very thing that cannot be uttered: the unexpected and forbidden love between Alamayou and Philip.
Inspired by the true events, The Night Language is a unique novel of love, loss, and the consequences of repressive societies.
“Not since Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient have I read a novel in which a character―The story and skinsong of Alamayou―has haunted language, history, and heart so intensely. David Rocklin’s novel The Night Language is a book of longing. Longing for history to unravel and retell itself around those whose buried voices and bodies truly mattered, longing for time to reverse and make decolonization possible, power giving way to intimacy, longing for art to bring a body back home, longing for language to unmoor itself and bring us back to life. If you read one novel this year, let it be The Night Language. It is still possible for a reader’s heart to be broken back open.”
“Rocklin does a beautiful job capturing the raw emotions that bring Alamayou and the queen closer together, all the while exploring the forbidden intimacy between him and Philip that permeates the novel…A moving and inspiring novel that shows what happens when those in power listen to foreign visitors.”
“Rocklin does a beautiful job capturing the raw emotions that bring Alamayou and the queen closer together, all the while exploring the forbidden intimacy between him and Philip that permeates the novel…A moving and inspiring novel that shows what happens when those in power listen to foreign visitors.”
“The Night Language is lovely and complex. It opens slowly, folding in historical details with ease.”
The Light Language
“The Night Language is lovely and complex. It opens slowly, folding in historical details with ease.”
Subscribe to our newsletter to get the most recent news and updates.