Pyre

This is my second book by the author, translated versions of course, and I'm pleasantly surprised how vivid the visuals he creates are. If Poonachi reminded me of Animal Farm, The Pyre invoked tales of Premchand somewhere in my mind. The story of Saroja and Kumarasen had me turning the pages and wishing fervently they might find the eternal love they were holding on to the promise of.... dramatic, intense yet gery real! Every bit a story that will tug yiur heartstrings

India somehow always remains an enigma for me. For being such a large country, we hear surprisingly little from it, as if it were a planet on its own. That is the reason I wanted to read some Indian literature and stumbled upon Perumal Murugan when his novel Poonachi: Or the Story of a Black Goat was longlisted for the NBA for translated fiction.

It is quite a disturbing read. Kumaresan and Saroja are from different castes and marry secretly. Kumaresan then takes Saroja to his native village to live with his mother, but she and the whole village do not approve of the marriage (to put it mildly). Things go from bad to worse and the two lovers have clearly underestimated the severity of their actions. I think the story is set in the 1980s - I hope things have improved in the meantime!

I found the story compelling, quite dramatic, but was not always convinced by the writing. The ending was too abrupt for me.