O. V. Vijayan (1930–2005)

The truth of the matter is that I cannot honestly review this book. It is so heavily woven into and dependent on an unspoken understanding and appreciation for a universe I do not know or understand. I would need plenty of background reading or time spent in this universe to truly understand and appreciate this book. I honestly don’t think that anyone who is not from Kerala is likely to fully and completely grasp this book.
Do not misunderstand me: this is a unique, remarkable book. It show more combines a simple, straightforward story with myths, legends, gods and goddesses, worldview, and the ineffable. Even with my literal and figurative distance from all that it is about, there can be no doubt that it is an extraordinary effort.
It is translated by the author and, except for some occasional rough spots, the translation is good. There are, however, some choices that simply do not work. Moreover, this is a work that badly needs--at the very least--either a glossary or an introduction explaining the customs and beliefs of Kerala. It is, like many places, truly hard for an outsider to comprehend and that inevitable lack of complete comprehension makes it a harder work to appreciate.
The story follows Ravi, a bright, college-educated rationalist as he takes up a job as a grade school teacher in a new government school in a small village. A fascinating group of characters appear on the stage and you learn who each one is, what his or her story is. And so as the book proceeds, the village becomes "peopled”—you come to learn who fills what place in the village, how life works, who the personalities are, and very importantly, why; you learn how they confront each other as well as themselves.
There is, too, what a number of reviews have called “magical realism.” My understanding of that term is that it refers to something else entirely. Yes, this book deals with the gods and belief and, very importantly, karma, but Vijayan’s achievement is to render the “unreal” painfully and poignantly real: the actions and interactions between people, the natural world, the universe of the gods all somehow fit together and the reader enters into that world along with Ravi, learning step by step. I withhold a fifth star as much to reflect my inability to fully “get” the book as anything else. But I would encourage you to read it; you won't regret the time and effort and it may offer you, as it did me, just the tiniest glimpse into a world I'd never known. show less

Having read Vijayan’s Legends of Khasak (on the recommendation of Jayan) and been enormously impressed, I sought out other works by him and found this collection of stories. Subjects and treatments vary enormously from the near-science fiction to the “warm and fuzzy” and while I wasn’t a fan of all of these stories, every single one of them was expertly done and impressive. There is a fantasy element about some, what might even be called magical realism in another context. But some show more are quite down-to-earth. My personal favorites were the stories about nostalgia and a sense of time and place (“The Sacred Eagle,” “Going Back,” and The Little Ones”). Highly recommended. show less

വായിച്ചു തുടങ്ങിയപ്പോൾ സന്ദർഭം നടകുന്ന ഭൂതതിലാണോ വർത്തമനതിലനൊ എന്നൊരു ബുദ്ധിമുട്ട് എനികുണ്ടായിരുന്നു ..... എന്നാൽ 3 chapter കഴിഞ്ഞു ഓരോ അദ്ധ്യായം നീങ്ങുമ്പോഴും വല്ലാത്ത ഒരു എനർജി show more ആയിരുന്നു .... ഒരിടക്ക് പുലര്ച്ച മൂനുമണി വരെ ഇരുന്നു തത്വശാസ്ത്രത്തിന്റെ ഉത്തമാശ്രിഗങ്ങൾ കീഴടക്കുന്ന ഈ പുസ്തകം കണ്ണിമ വെട്ടാതെ വായിച്ചു പോയിടുണ്ട് ..... സാമൂഹ്യം ...രാഷ്ട്രീയം ....കുടുംബം ..... ആത്മീയമായ കുറെ ജീവിത ശകലങ്ങൾ ഉള്കൊല്ലിച്ച ഒരു നോവൽ ........ വായിച്ചു കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോൾ എനിക്ക് തോന്നിയത് സംവിധയകാൻ രഞ്ജിത്ത് ഗുരുസാഗരം മനപടം അകിട്ടവവണം ഫിലോസോഫിക് സംഭ്ഷണങ്ങൾ തിരകഥയിൽ ഉള്ള്കൊള്ളിചിടുള്ളത് .......... എന്നെ ഏറ്റവും കൂടുതൽ സ്വദീനിച മലയാളം നോവൽ ............. show less

A scatalogical parody of sycophancy and power-wielding in a Orwellian scenario of Indian politicians and their boot-lickers. But it lacks the light touch that parody needs to be funny.