I9 97, That was 25 year back when I had read the book. I had a vague memory of the book being about an illicit relationship between 2 people from upper and lower caste. And, the fact that it was based in Kerala. One of the beautiful things about books is that the perspective on the book changes as you experience different writers and you are of course a different person at 50 as you were at 25. You know some authors won’t disappoint you like Amitava Ghosh in my case or Jhumpa Lahiri.
It was fascinating to read the book (especially when you are reading it between the Harry Potter series - I just finished the first 3). One of course is the story which gave a sense of sadness but with a lot of suppressed anger which I would have also experienced in my earlier read. But what I liked / absorbed more in my 2nd read was the imagination - visual & word play.
Yesterday night I was reading a whole passage on Kathakali, in fact it brought out the irony of a kathakali dancer who dances for the 5 star guests & then does the actual dance stoned in an empty temple, it was fascinating the description of various stages of Mahabharata and the eye movements, the visual and the word play is stand out for me.
The detailing you read about a forest or an insect, tree, chappal - I almost felt that every sentence was crafted with micro detailing like a showcase. The more I read the more I got fascinated by the prose. Since the book is told in flashback and a lot of connections are made in the end, I almost felt like I wanted to start all over again so that I could re-read the first half of the book with the same attention with which I did the last 100 pages.
The book has many themes, like the slow death of tradition like I mentioned about Kathakali, caste politics which seem to be such a major influence in almost all Malyali translated books I have read, Growing up of course, Nature, Migration.
What is sad for a reader is that her writing moved more into the political area or activism may be the right word. Even her only other novel ‘Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ was trying to make a statement on society and its inequalities. Unlike many other authors her writing is more of pouring her thoughts into words and syllables - to share her point of view and give clarity to her and the world at large.
Here’s what she says about writing in one of her interviews: “ Language is my friend. Everytime I am able to write to close the gap between language and thought, the blood flows easier in my veins. That is why I think I am always writing.”
I have seen 2 of my favourite authors - Amitava Ghosh, starting with derangement both his subsequent books were around environment or Jhumpa Lahiri who started writing in Italian and now translating italian books - their reason to write is a personal motivation not by target segment or what his fans want to read.
Read a more nuanced view from another fan and reviewer, Somak.
Day 29: 200 words/day challenge (547 words)
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