100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ

Enjoy overnight NZ-wide delivery from our NZ-owned independent bookstore! ๐ŸŽ‰

When I Hit You

4.08 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 6,509 ratings, 945 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy is an intense and powerful narrative that follows a young, educated Indian woman trapped in an abusive marriage. The book delves into her struggle for freedom and identity against the oppressive controls of her husband, a man she once admired. Through lyrical prose and raw honesty, it explores themes of resistance, resilience, and the complexities of love and power dynamics in relationships.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2600
Elsewhere:
$2799
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you appreciate powerful narratives that delve into themes of identity, power, and resistance. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent marriage, it explores the resilience of the human spirit through poetic language and deep introspection, appealing to those who value profound storytelling in general fiction.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Coming with giant grass-roots support and extraordinary critical acclaim, When I Hit You has moved readers to laughter, to anger, to tears ... and to action.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Caught in the hook of love, a young woman marries a dashing university professor. She moves to a rain-washed coastal town to be with him, but behind closed doors she discovers that her perfect husband is a perfect monster.

As he sets about battering her into obedience and as her family pressures her to stay in the marriage, she swears to fight backโ€”a resistance that will either kill her or set her free.

When I Hit You is a gripping novel that explores the complexities of power and the struggle for survival in the face of domestic abuse.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy is highly acclaimed, with reviews describing it as explosive and searing. It delivers a scorching and shattering depiction of an abusive marriage, hailed for its courage and bravery. The novel is both a powerful and poetic work, showcasing Kandasamy as a remarkably talented writer, and it leaves a lasting impact on its readers.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781786491282

Publisher: Atlantic Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 March 2018

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Atlantic Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 192.0mm

Weight: 245g

Pages: 272

About the Author

Meena Kandasamy (born 1984) is a poet, fiction writer, translator and activist who is based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She has published two collections of poetry, Touch (2006) and Ms. Militancy (2010), and the critically acclaimed novel, Gypsy Goddess.

Also by Meena Kandasamy

View all
  • Exquisite Cadavers
    Karim and Maya are lovers. They share a home, they worry about money, and then Maya falls pregnant. But Karim is still finishing his film degree, pushing against his tutors' insistence that his art must be Arab like him. And Maya, working a zero-hours job and fretting about her family, can't find the time to quit smoking, let alone have...
    Hardback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Gypsy Goddess
    Tamil Nadu, 1968. Village landlords rule over a feudal system that forces peasants to break their backs in the fields or suffer beatings as punishment. In the misery of their daily lives, it is little wonder that the Communist Party begins to gain traction, a small spark of defiance spreading from villager to villager. As communities across the region begin...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • New Release
    Fieldwork as a Sex Object
    FROM THE ICONIC WOMEN'S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST 'A one-woman, agitprop literary-political movement' INDEPENDENT 'One of the most urgent voices of tomorrow' HARPER'S BAZAAR I download the video. I mute the audio before replaying it frame by frame, in dread, in desperation. I watch it four times. It is not me. It is my fucking face. Amrita Chaturvedi goes by...
    Paperback
    $3499
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Fieldwork as a Sex Object
    Pre-order
    Fieldwork as a Sex Object
    THE WOMEN'S PRIZE-SHORTLISTED POET AND PROVOCATEUR An iconic, must-read novel of incels, influencers and AK-47s 'Best book of the year' NUSSAIBAH YOUNIS 'One of my books of the year' NICOLA STURGEON 'Fearless and brilliant' LEMN SISSAY 'One of the greats' NIKITA GILL 'A South Asian feminist Uncut Gems' ASH SARKAR 'Brilliant and brutal' PILAR QUINTANA 'A tour de force' NIKESH...
    Hardback
    $5000
    Pre-order
    Out 1 Sep 2026
  • Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You
    All disciplineA deception to hide the wildness, all symmetryAn excuse for keeping count. Tomorrow Someone Will Arrest You cements Meena Kandasamy as one of the most exciting, radical thinkers at work today. These poems chronicle wanting, art-making, and the practising of resistance and solidarity in the face of a hostile state. Here, the personal is political, and Kandasamy moves between...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people โ€” but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Red Rising
    The first book in the incredible New York Times bestselling series Darrow is a Helldiver, toiling beneath the surface of Mars. As a member of the Red caste, he performs grueling labor in the belief that his sacrifice will enable future generations to one day inhabit the surface of the Red Planet. The Reds are humankind's lowest caste, living in...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragonsโ€ฆ Raeveโ€™s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor โ€“ a staunch beacon from a past sheโ€™s yet to face. With Rekkโ€™s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Score
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Golden Son
    ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came fromโ€ฆHis name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance โ€“...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • East of Eden
    Set against the backdrop of the fertile Salinas Valley in California, East of Eden is a profound and compelling novel by John Steinbeck, one of the greatest writers of the 20th century. This masterful narrative charts the intertwining destinies of two familiesโ€”the Trasks and the Hamiltonsโ€”across multiple generations. Steinbeck's intricate portrayal of human nature and enduring exploration of moral themes...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.