13 Dec / Pyre by Perumal Murugan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan [in Booklist]
Perumal Murugan and Aniruddhan Vasudevan reunite after the infamous “success” of Murugan’s translated-into-English debut, One Part Woman, longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award for Translated Literature. Murugan declared himself dead on Facebook after the cult novel was viciously condemned in India, his homeland, and Vasuvedan declined a major translator award in protest. A second National Book Award longlist nod in 2020 for The Story of a Goat (2019) returned Murugan to international acclaim.
His latest again spotlights remote village life, while the concise title looms as a threat throughout. Shy lovebirds Saroja and Kumaresan glimpse each other from afar: Saroja is the homemaker for her widower father and older brother; Kumaresan lodges nearby and delivers soda bottles for a living. The pair flee Saroja’s family to marry, fearful of being stopped. They travel to Kumaresan’s ancestral village where they are met with shocked repudiation, especially from Kumaresan’s widowed mother. That Saroja with her pale skin couldn’t possibly be of the same caste censures her as a pariah, leaving the couple mired in unforgiving rejection.
With exquisitely honed details, Murugan vividly exposes society’s blind adherence to draconian traditions.
Review: “Fiction,” Booklist, December 1, 2021
Readers: Adult
Published: 2013 (India), 2022 (United States)