![One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan: A Book review]()
Drama |
It has been a while since I reviewed a translated work I think. And if you are doing the Year of Asian challenge, read this review of One Part Woman and then the book right away.
About One Part Woman
Book Name: One Part Woman
Author: Perumal Murugan
Genre: Fiction – Drama, Literary, Translated work
Characters: Kali, Ponna, Muthu,
Setting: Tamilnadu, India
Plot summary of One Part Woman
Set in the southern part of India, the story revolves around Kali and Ponna who have been married for twelve years. They are ridiculed and ostracized for not conceiving a child by their family, friends and the entire village. They have been called names and shamed about their fertility at every instance. Despite having doubts about having a baby, they try to save their face in front of the society.
They have met with many astrologers, made offerings to the Gods and done every ritual sacrifices to their deities but to no avail. As a last resort, their families ask Ponna to take part in a specific festival celebrating the half-man-half-woman deity, when any man and woman can consensual sexual relationship with one another.
Will the couple take up the offer? What effect would this offer have on their relationship. You should read One Part Woman to know more.
Book review of One Part Woman
Though initially written in my mother tongue Tamil, I read One Part Woman in English and I am glad I did that. While I have heard high praises about the original, I am not sure if I could have digested the rawness in the story.
One Part Woman portrays emphatically the society’s stand towards a couple who are childless, or God forbid choose not to have one, especially in the rural areas.
There are a lot of racial and sexual slurs (not more than other novels of the genre though), but nothing that called for the riots and calls for banning the book. I think the political and casteists should leave the literary world alone.
Things that worked for me:
- I loved the layered and flowery writing style of the author.
- All the characters are well thought and fully developed. I loved Ponna’s strong and fierce character.
- The book ends in a kinda cliffhanger and continues in the next part, the end worked for me.
- The rural life in the south India is perfectly etched.
Things that didn’t work for me:
- The rawness in writing goes in hand with a lot obscene sexual and racial slurs. That is one reason I am glad I didn’t read it in my mother tongue.
- I didn’t get many of the slurs and slang, despite it being my mother tongue.
- There are times the flowery writing might seem overdone and drags the pace.
Bottom-line:
If you want to read a translated work that portrays rural south India then One Part Woman should be your choice. I am definitely reading the part two soon.
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Classics |
Do you believe when people say that a book finds you at the right time? Well that has happened to me again. Well I finally go the courage to pick up The Picture of Dorian Gray and it did have its effect on me. Shall we get on with it?
I know I made tall orders for the year and I vowed to read more classics, loosely following the Penguin Classic Challenge and the Children’s Classic challenge. And it is February and am trying to keep up my promise by reading The Picture of Dorian Gray for January. I might have broken the suspense on how it was already, haven’t I?
About The Picture of Dorian Gray
Book Name: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Genre: Fiction – Classics, Literary, Paranormal
Characters: Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, Lord Henry Wotton, Sibyl Vane, James Vane, Lady Wotton
Setting: England, The UK
Plot Summary of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Basil Hayward, an artist, is smitten by his muse Dorian Gray, who is young, innocent and beautiful and he introduces him to his best friend and worldly Lord Henry Wotton, somewhat reluctantly. Lord Henry’s worldly, hedonistic approach to life fascinates young Dorian and strikes a Faustian deal that he would stay young forever, instead his picture would.
With some help from Lord Henry’s ideology Dorian goes on to being his reckless, vain and sadistic self with his eternal youth while the picture pays the price for all of them. You should definitely read The Picture of Dorian Gray to know what happened next in this crazy Victorian story.
Book review of The Picture of Dorian Gray
I LOVED this one and I cannot recommend it enough to people who love to read lyrical, smooth prose and/or want to have deep philosophical discussion about men and their psychology. The book is full of interesting characters who are so larger than life, especially Lord Henry. I loved every sentence uttered by Lord Henry and I kept highlighting the quotes like crazy.
There were times when it became a bit slow, especially when talking about the materialistic obsessions of Dorian. But it gains its pace soon enough.
There are several layers and themes discussed like morality, selfishness, identity, greed, mortality and of course hedonism. And The Picture of Dorian Gray does come with a moral that materialistic life is not all and our sins do come back to haunt us.
I went on a hunt to find all the vague innuendos for homosexuality and boy, I was not disappointed at all. I can understand how scandalous this book must have been for Oscar Wilde was incarcerated for writing this one.
Things that worked for me
- Wilde’s witty and funny writing kept me hooked throughout.
- I loved Lord Henry’s hedonistic philosophy to life.
Things that didn’t work for me
There were a few places when the writing became a bit dragging.
Similar reviews you might like
Bottom-line
If you are looking for something more substantial than your regular run of the mill love story, with a lot of allegorical and witty writing The Picture of Dorian Gray should be your pick. If this is what all (or most.. or a few) classics like, keep them coming and I might as well make this – a year of classic.
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Have you read of The Picture of Dorian Gray? If so who is your favorite character of all? What classics should I read next? What was the last classic you read? Let us talk.
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Quizzes & Tags |
I was talking to someone last week about trivia contests and believe it or not, I have won a few. I used to be smarter I guess. And would not come as a surprise, that I used to do so well when it came to finding the name of the authors from their books.
That gave me the idea for today’s post. Let me know if you are any good at bookish quizzes.
Name these authors!
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How did you fare in the quiz? Were you able to find the name of these authors? Are you as interested as I am in trivia contests? Let us talk.
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Quizzes & Tags |
I love it when I relate to the characters of a book I love. And I was super excited to created this quiz, so that you can find out which Female Literary Character you are similar to!
Don’t you feel better when you find some characteristics of yours in another person, even if it just in a book, and that you are not all alone in this world? I do.
Here is your chance to find out which female literary character from the literary world is your twin is by answering few questions. Let me know who you are.
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Who is your female book twin? Can you related to your twin Female literary Character? Are there any other bookish quizzes that you have tried and liked? Let me know in the comment section.
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Classics |
There is something with South East Asian Literature that I can’t put my finger to, they always leave me confused whether I like them or not. I picked Kitchen by Yoshimoto worrying if I will get it, especially seeing that it has several raving reviews on Goodreads.
I didn’t want to read the blurb and jumped directly into the book. Read on to know how that went.
About the book
Book Name: Kitchen
Author: Banana Yoshimoto
Genre: Fiction – Modern Classic, Literary,
Characters: Mikage Sakurai, Yuichi and Eriko Tanabe
Setting: Tokyo, Japan
Plot
Kitchen begins with Mikage Sakurai grieving the death of her grandmother, in their kitchen. Yuichi and his mother Eriko takes her in as she has no other family left. Mikage throws herself into cooking and food, which becomes part of her heart and dreams.
Eriko is a transvestite, who runs a gay night club and lives with her son Yuichi who studies at Uni. He was a man for a long time until his wife died and then he changes ‘her face and her everything’ with the help of operations. The busy mother – son gets closer to Miakge through her home cooked dinners, until Mikage moves away to pursue her culinary dreams.
A few months later Eriko is murdered by a smitten man. Tides change and it is now Yuichi that has to face the loss and grief. How Mikage helps Yuichi to cope with the loss and how her passion for food keeps the friends sane forms the rest of the story in Kitchen.
Kitchen is followed by a shorter tale named Moonlight Shadow in which the theme of grief and loss of beloved ones continue. Satsuki lost her boy friend Hitsohi to an unforeseen road accident. She picks up running to push her sorrows away. Hitoshi’s brother who lost his girlfriend in the same accident dresses in her favorite costume as a cope up mechanism.
Satsuki meets Urara who tells her a way that can help her find a closure. Read the story to know if they find what they seek.
My initial thoughts
Yoshimoto’s Kitchen is full of eccentric characters and I can’t think of a better word than weird right now to describe the plot.
The leads in both the tales attempt to seek hope and overcoming of their destitution after the death. But how they attain that is way different.
Though both the stories are very minimal and to the point, I loved them like a fresh breath of air. Some stories make us long for more but Kitchen in all its incompleteness felt complete. I don’t want to know what Satsuki or Yuichi, who stayed in my mind long after I finished reading, did anymore because I know (and hope) they will be better.
Here is where I am lost. I dunno if I love or hate Yoshimoto’s writing. There were places when the writing felt right and there were places that were just off. I might have to read more of Yoshimoto’s to conclude whether it was the writing or the translation that failed to make me love it. Or maybe that was how the book was intended to be.
Things that worked for me
- The simplistic narration talks about ordinary people leading a mundane life but had profound effect on me.
- Yoshimoto’s writing is not polished or lyrical, in fact it does not even mince words (but that might be just the translation), yet the simple prose hits the point at most places.
- I loved the usage of Kitchen as a metaphor and letting it play a character in the story.
Things that didn’t work for me
- Kitchen is not a plot driven novel. And if you are looking for one with lots of twists and turns, you will be severely disappointed.
- I felt the translation seemed off at places but I am not sure if it was intentional.
- I am still not sure if the usage of transvestite and transgender is accurate. I think they were used interchangeably in the book, I might be wrong.
Bottom-line
If you liked The Vegetarian by Han Kang, you might like Kitchen as well. You may like this one or not, but I am sure it will leave a lasting memory either way, just like it did for me.
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Have you read this or anything from Japan? Do you like books that are not plot oriented? What other countries do you like me to read about? Let us talk.
